Improvise, Overcome and Adapt
by FlowerCrazy
Summary: Some 14 years down the road after the last High Mountain Ranger episode, its time for the changing of the 'guard' for a few of the team members who are retiring from the HMRs. Who'll take their places...and what new adventures will occur? Reviews Please!
1. Disclaimer

**Disclaimer: **High Mountain Rangers belongs to its creators and visionaries, story writers, filming company, etc. It is not mine to own, just to borrow and allow me to dream within for a while.

**Time Frame:** (I'm wanting to go on the assumption that the accident never happened that started off the Jesse Hawkes series – Everyone is still alive and is still with the Rangers or has retired/moved on). This happens some 14 or so years after the last High Mountain Ranger episode ended. (1988-1989) Current year is: 2003.

**Something of Note: 1st** - **Update:** I have finally gotten my hands on the HMR series and the Jesse Hawkes series so I'm up to date. **2nd **– I do not have a good working knowledge of rescue operations, the military (the Marines to be exact) or how law enforcement works. This is a story, nothing more and they never get everything right on TV shows or in the Movies anyway. This is meant for entertainment only. **3rd:** Since seeing all these episodes, I'm going to make a number of modifications to the story. Nothing too drastic but things that will help the timeline run a little more smoothly.

**Cast of Recurring Characters:**

**_Matt Hawkes_** – CO of the High Mountain Rangers – Codename: Flying Tiger (Matt is 37 years old)

**_Robin (Kelly) Hawkes_** – Wife of Matt Hawkes and High Mountain Ranger – Codename: Frostbite (Robin is around 35 years old)

Jeremiah Hawkes - First child of Matt and Robin - Born in 1994 - 9 years old

James (Jimmy) Hawkes - Second child of Matt and Robin - Born in 1998 - 5 years old

Jessica (Jessie) Hawkes - Third child of Matt and Robin - Born 2003

**_Cody Hawkes_** – Ranger in Yellowstone and Bear Tooth Mountain Range - Codename: Ace (or Toad as his brother still calls him) (Cody is 30 years old)

**_Izzy Flowers_** – High Mountain Ranger – Codename: Pocatello Kid (Izzy is roughly 34 years old)

**_Mark Taggert_** – High Mountain Ranger – Codename: Bullseye (my creation) (Mark is roughly 25 years old)

**_Gunnery Sergeant Crane Atheron_** – Retiring Marine, Chopper Pilot – Codename: Gunny (my creation) (Gunny is 31 years old)

**_Sheriff Frank MacAllister_** – Tahoe Sheriff now that Mike's retired – Codename: Sheriff Mac (my creation) (Mac is 34 years old)

**Where did they go? (Original Show characters)**

Jesse Hawkes: Passed away due to heart attack in 2000

Frank Avilia: Retired after life threatening injuries due to a chopper crash in 2002

Jim Cutler: Took over as Head Football Coach at South Tahoe High in 2000. Still hangs out with Matt and the rangers from time to time.

Tim Hart: Took a job in Colorado working for a Search an Rescue group there in 1999 and is now head of that group. Keeps in touch once in a while.

Jackie Hawkes: Remarried, living in Southern California.

Sheriff Mike McBride: Retired and still poking around but spends his days fishing or playing with his grandchildren.

**Timeline:**

Matt and Robin marry - 1992

Jeremiah born - 1994

Cody graduated from Iowa State University - 1994

James born - 1998

Gunny's chopper goes down in the Middle East during routine patrol - early 1998

Tim Hart takes job in Colorado with a search and rescue team there - 1999

Mark Taggart is hired to replace Tim - 1999

Jesse dies due to heart attack - 2000

Jim Cutler 'retires' to coach South Tahoe High football - 2000

Erin Tonado is hired to replace Jim - 2000

9/11/2001

HMR chopper crash - kills skier on board, Frank hurt with life threatening injuries - late 2002

Erin quites after Matt reprimands him for several instances of sloppy work that cost equipment and almost a skiers life - early 2003


	2. Chapter 1

Matt looked at the list of applicants again. He sighed, shaking his head to himself. He had put out an ad to get applications for new Rangers. He had two openings that had recently been vacated due to retirement of Frank who was still recovering from the chopper crash in 2002 and Eric, a ranger he'd hired to replace Jim who had quit three months ago after being reprimanded. Matt was sad to see Frank go but not Eric. He'd had his fill of Eric's attitude that had been steadily becoming worse in the past two years.

Matt had received twelve applications which was rather surprising. He had weeded through them and had managed to narrow it down to six that looked like potential hopefuls. He'd already interviewed four of them and had been extremely disappointed. He didn't want to set his standards too high but the basic knowledge of wilderness survival, first aid and how to shoot a firearm were a must. He'd get one that had a certain set of skills but not another or one that had the basic knowledge but didn't have the experience to go with it. This was a tough job and unfortunately one had to have the experience to be able to jump into this job only a little basic training.

Matt sat back and thought about the four he'd interviewed so far. He could only hope that the last two he had to go proved to be a bit more knowledgeable and experienced. As he watched the small fire in the fireplace within his office, he wished for two things. One, he wished his dad was still alive to give a little of that 'friendly advice' on these candidates.

His second wish was that Cody was around to apply for one of the positions. He'd hire his brother in heartbeat because he knew Cody was experienced in all the areas for the positions they needed filled. But, Cody had headed out to Iowa of all places to attend the Iowa State University because of their specialized study program in Forestry. His current job was a position up in Yellowstone and had been there for the past four years. Other than coming home for the holidays and a week of vacation now and then, he was a ranger up in the Bear Tooth Mountain Ranges.

Cody had been home for his father's funeral three years back. It had been hard on them all but thankfully their father had slipped away peacefully. He'd gone to bed one night and not woken the next morning. Robin had found him that way a few days later when she'd stopped by to get warmed up after being out working the north ridge. The cold snap had come in and thankfully the cabin had been kept extremely cold so there was little disturbance of things.

She'd called in for the chopper and said it looked like he'd been chopping wood the day before and he'd gone to bed that night and had a heart attack. The fires had gone out in the fireplace and it had stayed cold. An autopsy had revealed what they'd speculated and that there was no foul play. The funeral was small since Jesse had wanted to be cremated. His ashes were scattered amongst the trees and streams of the mountains he loved the most. Cody had taken it pretty hard but they both agreed that he hadn't suffered, that the natural course of life had taken him from them and not someone bent on revenge or anger for some past transgression. He'd lived a full life and it nothing to second guess. They'd seen their mother for a short period of time but she had a new husband and had moved out to California. They exchanged emails from time to time but they were both lucky if they saw her once a year.

Cody had kept in touch a couple times a month through emails, making comments about the stupid, strange and bizarre things he encountered up north. Matt was comforted to know that the High Sierras weren't the only place idiots hung out. Matt's thoughts came back to him. He hadn't told Cody that there was a position open because he didn't want Cody to feel obligated to him to apply. He already had a job and had seemed pretty happy where he was.

Matt yawned and turned the light out on his desk. He had another interview in the morning and he needed to be rested for it. The last person to interview wasn't for another four days. He had responded to Matt's email about an interview by saying he had to take leave from the military to make it to Lake Tao. It was the most interesting resume of all though. Crane Atheron – Marine chopper pilot – three tours in the Middle East, the last two as a med-evac pilot. The cover letter simply explained that he was getting out of the military since his tenure was up in two months and currently looking for a job. That was three weeks ago that Matt had received the letter.

He got up and banked the coals in the office fireplace and put the metal grate up in front of it to keep any sparks away from the rest of the room, just in case. He was exhausted and needed to head to bed. He could only hope that Robin was in bed already and had things warmed up. As the colder fall weather set in, he was sure his stiffness was due more to the abuse he'd been through since his teenage years than from advancing age. He snorted to himself as he headed upstairs to where his wife slept, soon sliding in between the covers with her. She was a ranger and they'd worked together on and off since he took over his father's position with the Rangers a number of years ago. It'd taken him a few years to realize that Robin was the only woman for him. They'd been married over ten years ago and they were expecting their third and probably final child in about six months.

Matt smiled as he made his way to the newer addition to the ranger station. They had applied for and gotten funding to add a 'Commanders' quarters to the back half of the station, out of the way of most of the ranger activity. It consisted of a small living room/dining room, main bathroom and kitchen on the lower level and three bedrooms on the upper level. Even if he decided in the future to move on or retire, this would be for the Commanding Officer and his or her family to live. It took a lot to be the CO any more with all the rules and regulations, do's and don'ts. He got time off and when he did, he and Robin often would take their two boys up to Jesse's cabin and spend the few days they had together just being away from the hustle and bustle. But it was still a full time job...he could be called away at any time, even on his time off. So...to make life easier for he and Robin...not to mention the Rangers so they wouldnt' have to deal with small children underfoot when planning a search and rescue, they lived in the CO's quarters now.

Robin was still an active Ranger but she had agreed that staying at the station and answering phones, dispatching calls and doing most of the office work was where she was best suited and everyone agreed that things had run much smoother since she'd taken over organizing things. It wasn't a dull job since she was having to deal with the sheriffs office and other state officials as well as coordinating search and rescues, making sure gear was fixed or replaced when need be, packs were kept current in case of immediate need. She was also busy keeping up with their two older children, Jeremiah who was nine and Jimmy who was five. She cooked meals and made sure the go-for jobs were done. He hated sending his kids to school and daycare but he knew that Robin wouldn't have been able to spend the time home schooling them and doing all the jobs her position entailed.

Matt checked on his two boys. Both were sound asleep, crashed out to the world. They had both inherited their parents blond hair and blue eyes but Jimmy looked a bit more like his dad and Cody through the face than Jeremiah did. Jeremiah took after his mom's side of the family a bit more. They played hard every day and nights were easy on the parents since fresh air and all that activity usually ment an early bedtime for them both. He closed the door, leaving them to sleep and headed to his own bedroom where Robin slept.

She turned over in bed and wrapped her arms around him when he'd gotten into bed, snuggling up against him. Matt had to admit that he was quite content. He nuzzled her hair as he drifted off to sleep, wondering what the next few days would bring with interviews and if he'd have to go back to the remaining sixteen resumes and re-review them for other potentials.


	3. Chapter 2

His interview the next day wasn't too bad though he felt that though the person did have experience in the field, they would need some serious work with firearms and target practice. It was more promising than the other four he'd interviewed so far.

Two days after that interview, Robin came in to his office during a lull in emergencies and handed him an envelope. "There's someone at the front desk that says they're here to interview for a Ranger position. They said to tell you they were sorry they didn't send in their resume earlier but they'd been in the field until now."

Matt looked up at her for a moment and then took the envelope and opened it. The letter inside was hand written. It simply said 'I'm applying for the open position of Ranger. I know you know my qualifications.' It was signed 'Ace'

Matt let out a whoop of laughter and looked at Robin, "He's really out there?" he asked and she looked slyly at him, "No Matt…its all a joke at your expense." She said as she rolled her eyes and headed back to her desk.

Matt followed her out the door and upon seeing his brother standing there, he laughed again and when they hugged in greetings, he picked up his little brother. "God damned its good to see you Toad. I haven't heard from you in a few weeks and I was getting a little worried down here that I might have to come up and save your ass or something." He teased lightly, putting his brother down.

Cody had grown to be handsome man, medium height, slender in build but it was all wire and muscle. He simply rolled his eyes after 'oofffing' at the hug his brother gave to him. "Gee bro, didn't know it'd gotten that bad around here. I would have tried to come sooner but we were having problems with bears coming down out of the north and into several towns. Had to do a bit of relocating." He said with a grin.

Matt could remember when Cody was a shy young teenager, gangly and though he was sure footed, he wasn't socially sure of himself. That had changed by the time he graduated from college. He'd had a few girlfriends at times but nothing too serious. His job was his life and he didn't seem bothered by being single at the moment. Hell, it'd taken Matt long enough to realize what was staring him in the face before he committed to walking down the isle.

"Come on. You must be exhausted. Lets get you set up for the night then we'll go to town for supper if the phone and idiots will let us." He motioned for Cody to head to the guest quarters as he followed behind him. Within minutes, Jeremiah and Jimmy were all over Cody, hanging off him and trying to tackle him in the middle of the hallway. Cody ended up with a kid under each arm as Matt got his stuff into the spare bedroom.

Cody looked at Robin and gave her a wink before heading to his room for at least a few days still holding to the struggling nephews as he went. Matt didn't miss the wink and he looked at Robin who gave him an 'innocent' look that he didn't believe. That night at supper at Moe's Pizza, the chatter around the table with the three other rangers that could join them, was about the applicants that had shown up for the job so far. They started pressing him for details on the last one he was going to interview tomorrow.

Matt could only shrug, "I've already told you what I know about him. Military man getting out, looking for work. Sounds like he's got the qualifications but until I meet him, I'll reserve judgment. They all looked good on paper until you got them talking and then you realize that they aren't all they're cracked up to be." He said as he took a swig of beer.

Then the bets started around the table with how long the interview would last, if the person was truly qualified for the position and how long it would take Matt to realize he'd 'failed' again at picking the right someone for the position. The discussions went around the table for some time, even getting Cody to laugh. "You know Matt, not everyone can be as qualified as you or me. We had it easy since we lived in the mountains with dad. We learned everything early on where most of these people sound like they're from the city or as someone at the ranger station in Yellowstone loves to call them…flatlanders." He said with a smile.

With a hoot, several of the rangers loved that new word and worked it around for awhile before they paid their bill and headed out. Cody was the only one that hung back, sending the others on ahead of him. He simply said he'd be back to the station later that night. Several of them shrugged and Matt ruffled his hair as he headed outside.

Once they were out of the building, Cody went over to the bar and purchased two beers, one for him and one he knew someone else was drinking. He walked over to the woman sitting in a booth seat by herself and set her beer of choice on the table in front of her. Cool gray-blue eyes looked up at him, the face of a handsome woman coming into view from the light hanging over the table. He spoke up quietly, "May I join you?"

The eyes looked him over carefully and then her hand reached out, took the bottled beer and tilted it up for a sip before using the bottle to indicate that he could sit across from her. Cody took the invitation and sat down, putting his bottle of beer on the table. He held a hand out to her, "Cody Hawkes." was all he offered.

She took the offered hand, her handshake firm while her hand was dry. "Crane Atheron." she responded in kind.

With a nod, Cody let go of her hand. "Pleasure to meet you. Gunnery Sergeant, Marines, correct?" he asked

She smirked a little, "Guilty as charged."

Cody heard the unspoken question as if she'd said it aloud. He pointed towards the ring she wore. "I was never in the military but I learned long ago how to identify the little indicators to look for….like your ring." He stated.

She raised an eyebrow, her expression bland, neutral. She looked down at her ring then and then back up to Cody. "And you would be Matthew Hawkes little brother. You're a forest ranger and looking to get a job here with the High Mountain Rangers, a search and rescue group that was started by your father, Jesse Hawkes." She stated evenly.

Cody raised an eyebrow as he sipped his beer. He didn't ask the obvious question either but smirked a little as she lifted a finger to point to the faded newspaper articles that had been framed and hung on the wall. "Sorry to hear about your father." She said plainly.

Cody nodded his thanks. "You know that they're expecting a man to show up for that interview tomorrow." He stated.

It was her turn to smirk a little. "Uh-huh. Won't they be surprised…" she said, taking another swig from the bottle.

Cody chuckled, "Yup, because I just can't bring myself to burst their bubble. It's good to keep those guys on their toes every now and then otherwise they become … a bit over assured of their prowess." He said with a grin.

Crane chuckled in turn. "You're a very observant man if you picked up on the fact that I was sitting here listening to them the whole time."

Cody shrugged, "Just the way I was brought up. You smirked once or twice at something that seemed to coincide with things we were talking about. Plus I noticed the ring and knew that the person Matt was seeing tomorrow was a Marine so I started to put a few things together. When everyone got up to leave, your eyes flicked our way several times as you took in what people looked like. I was pretty sure of my 'suspicions' by then."

She looked at him for a moment, "Anything I should know before tomorrow?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Not really other than catching them off guard and keeping them guessing the whole time. Just be honest in what you tell him." He finished his beer and put it on the table.

Crane finished the last sip in her bottle and put it next to his. She held her hand out across the table, "Then thanks for the info. You got a ride back to the station?" she asked.

Cody accepted the hand and smiled. "Welcome…and no. Was gonna call a cab."

Crane shook her head, "Let me give you a ride. That way I know where I'm going tomorrow."

He nodded and stood up. He offered her a hand as she climbed out of the booth seat. She accepted and they walked towards the door. He held the doors for her as they left and she gave him a 'oh really?' look but said nothing about his chivalry. She led him to the parking lot and over to a dark blue old Ford Pickup and unlocked the doors. Cody took a minute to walk around the truck, "Nice…" he stated.

She climbed in and started the motor as he opened his door. The engine roared to life and then settled, rumbling softly like a deep rolling purr. "Very nice…" he said.

"Thanks." She said as she followed his pointed finger as to which direction she was to head. The ride back to the station was quiet other than Cody asking where she got the truck. She explained she got it off an old farmstead in Wyoming about ten years ago and had been working to restore it these last four years. Cody expressed his appreciation for how well she'd done and she only nodded to him.

When they reached the ranger station, she pulled up in front of the cabin. She turned off the headlights but left the engine idling. Cody held out his hand, "Good luck tomorrow and thanks for the ride."

She shook the hand in return, "Thanks and you're welcome."

Cody climbed out and she watched him enter the cabin, giving her a slight salute before she turned on the headlights and backed out of the parking spot. She headed the truck back down the mountain to Tahoe and to her hotel room.

Inside the station, several of the rangers were still up and questioned Cody on who had dropped him off. He only rolled his eyes a little. "If you must know, I met a nice woman at the bar and she was kind enough to give me a lift back here after we'd shared a couple of beers together."

Matt sighed and rolled his eyes, "Leave it to you to find the lonely female and then charm her into giving you a ride. Did you get her number?"

Cody shook his head, "Didn't ask for it and she didn't offer. Besides, she's only in town for another day."

Izzy passed him a piece of paper, "Okay Cody…write out your bet on what's gonna happen tomorrow with the last interview. Fold it up and put it in the envelope so Robin can seal it up. Keep others from cheating tomorrow…." He said eyeing Mark.

Cody looked at the paper, looked at Matt then keeping his composure, he wrote something down, folded it up twice and stuck it in the envelope. Robin sealed it up and tucked it away until after the interview.


	4. Chapter 3

Several of the rangers had managed to get the time that Matt was to have his interview out of Robin and made sure to hang around either outside, servicing snow mobiles or doing general upkeep on the building. It was more for show and curiosity than anything. Some of them had a bit of money riding on the outcome of this interview.

Ten minutes before the interview was supposed to start, an old Ford pickup from sometime in the 1960's pulled up. It had obviously been restored but it was equipped to be more utilitarian than show. It was painted a dark blue with the chrome having been restored. The engine purred as it entered the parking lot and came to a stop. A woman, one might possibly call handsome, stepped out of the truck and pulled out a briefcase with her. She was dressed in black wool slacks, fashionable boots but not to ostentatious. She wore a gray sweater under a wool jacket that matched the pants. Her hair was a reddish brown, thick and long and was held tightly into place in a braid that hung down her back. Her eyes were a gray blue as she scanned the area and nodded politely to those 'staring' back at her.

She entered the building and went over to the main desk. "Hello. I'm here to see Ranger Matt Hawke for a nine a.m. interview." She stated in an even but firm voice.

Robin stared up at her then stood, "You must be Crane Atheron?" she asked as she held out a hand to greet the woman.

The woman took her hand, "Gunnery Sergeant Crane Atheron." She corrected politely. "But I won't stand on formality very often. Please call me Crane." She said in general conversation with the woman.

Robin smiled brightly, "Wow…a Gunnery Sergeant. I'll let Matt know you're here." She said with a twinkle of mirth in her eyes.

She picked up the phone and got Matt on his office phone. "Matt, there's a Gunnery Sergeant Crane Atheron here to see you for your nine o'clock interview." She stated into the phone. She got confirmation and hung up the phone. "You can go on in. He's expecting you." She said, pointing to the office door.

Crane nodded and went over to the office door that Robin had indicated, opening it. She stepped through and closed the door behind her. Matt had his back to her as he was searching through a file for something. She waited quietly for him to turn around, her features composed and standing in a form of relaxed attention.

When Matt glanced over his shoulder, throwing a "…be with you in a moment..." before turning back to what he was doing, he jerked his head back around to look at her. He stood up and faced her, his face a little red, "Crane Atheron?" he asked in a way of verification.

She stepped forward and offered her hand, "Gunnery Sergeant Crane Atheron but please, call me Crane. I'll be retiring in a few weeks." She stated evenly.

Matt shook her hand in return. "Nice to meet you …Crane." He said as if trying to wrap his brain around the fact that the name on the resume made him think automatically of a man. But, he…was a she and apparently highly decorated if she had made Gunnery Sergeant, one thing she failed to mention on her resume. He motioned towards the seat across from the desk. This wasn't going to go well for him, he felt it in his gut and he got a sneaking suspicion that he'd just met his match.

--

The crew had assembled for an early lunch in the kitchen by the time the woman was preparing to leave. She turned back to face Matt outside of his office and offered her hand. "I look forward to hearing from you soon." She stated professionally.

Matt shook her hand and nodded, giving a careful smile. "I'll let you know within the next few days my decision."

She nodded, her eyes scanning the room as she headed towards the door, passing Robin with a polite nod before she pushed the door open and stepped outside. Matt had followed her as far as his wife's desk and then stood there, watching her out the window. The truck turned over and rumbled to life. He could tell just by the sound of it that it had power. He noted the license plate was from Wyoming as she pulled out of the parking lot and left. He looked down at his wife, only able to raise an eyebrow as silence reigned from the kitchen.

He entered the kitchen with Robin who had brought in the envelope with the bets from the night before. As Matt joined his brother at the table, looking at the other hooligans that sat around there, he motioned for Robin to read out the 'bets' to see who won.

One by one, they were eliminated until they got to the one from Cody. Robin opened it and then suddenly burst into laughter as she looked at her brother-in-law. "How did you know?" she asked him as everyone other than Cody scrambled to grab the paper from Robin who kept it out of their reach, giggling the whole time.

Izzy complained, "What's it say?" he asked.

Matt looked at his wife then at Cody, "Yes, what did brother dearest write?" he asked with growing suspicion he wouldn't like the answer.

Robin opened the piece of paper again, "It says, 'Crane is a woman and you're so screwed'." She looked at Cody, "So I'll ask again…how did you know?" she asked.

Every eye was on Cody as he chuckled, "I have my ways." He stated.

Izzy growled, "I think you slipped in the paper after you saw her."

Cody shrugged, "Nope. That's what I wrote last night."

Matt looked at him, "So how did you know last night and if you had your suspicions, why didn't you say something?" he said, looking like he was going to pounce on his brother.

Cody sighed, "I'll answer only if you promise to hire me. I'm at the end of my tenure at that position and I'm looking for something a little more permanent." He stated evenly.

Looks were exchanged across the table and Matt finely let out a false exasperated sigh, "Fine…you're hired. Now tell me…." He said, making 'choking hands' at his brother.

Cody smirked, "Who do you think brought me home last night." He stated as he got up and carried his sandwich out of the kitchen.

Four pairs of eyes stared after him in shock then looked at each other. How the hell he'd met her last night, he obviously was keeping to himself. Everyone sat at the table and stared at Matt now as if asking him to explain his brother. The rest of lunch was passed by asking Matt questions about her and convincing him that he would be stupid to pass up a chance of hiring her.


	5. Chapter 4

Three weeks later, Cody had moved what gear he owned into his dads old cabin and spent a week working on getting it fixed up. Matt had done his best but being in charge of the Rangers and a father of two little boys hadn't left him with much time to do more than keep brush cleared away, the roof repaired and the cabin in usable shape.

Cody packed a bag of clothes and arrived at the Ranger station for preparation of his first day tomorrow, by mid-afternoon. The first snow had fallen but it wasn't deep enough to impede the horse he'd been assigned by the Rangers. His horse had died several years back due to old age and he hadn't spent much time trying to find a new one yet. That might have to change soon but for now, he was content with the mare they'd given him.

By five that night, the rumble of an engine came into the parking lot and the headlights flashed against the far wall of the main room and then were quickly extinguished. Within a few minutes Crane walked through the front door, wiping her feet off on the rug inside. She carried a large duffle bag with her, a large military backpack on her shoulders and a briefcase in her hand. All eyes settled on her and she stared evenly back.

Matt stood up, "Need help with anything else?" he offered.

She shook her head, "Live light and travel the same way."

Several eyes blinked at her as Robin spoke up, "So…you never got back to me on arranging lodgings outside of the station if you needed them." She offered in her own way to help.

Crane shrugged a little, "Don't really need them yet. Don't have anything else but this stuff and my truck. Just need a bunk." She stated.

She saw the blank looks and gave a slight sigh until she caught the look from Cody. He only nodded as he stood up. "Come on. I'll show you where you can stash your gear." He stated evenly and motioned her towards the stairs.

She nodded to the others and followed Cody up the stairs to the small room that had been Robins at one time until she moved in with Matt. He pointed out the bunkrooms for the guys, Matt and Robin's room, where the bathrooms were and finally where her room was. There was an adult sized bunk bed up against the wall and the only other furniture was two dressers and two desks.

She looked around the room and said nothing about the cramped living conditions. Cody offered then, "You're the only other female on the team besides Robin so it's all yours unless we get someone else down the road." He stated as she picked the top bunk and pushed her briefcase up to it before dumping her gear on the floor.

She turned to looked at him and he realized that she had taken her ring off on her right hand, leaving a visible groove and pale area where it used to sit. He smirked a little at remembering something. "I'm to let you know that the two of us have A.M. barn duty for the next week and it's up to us to make supper. Such is the life of being a probie." He stated. "Can you cook?" he asked.

She looked at him with a slight shrug, "Not much need for it…" she said. "Probie huh? All this time working my ass off to be Gunnery Sergeant and I get demoted by myself to Probate." She gave an exasperated look at him that made him chuckle a little.

"Hey, don't feel bad. I've got a number of years of ranger experience under my belt and I grew up in these mountains…and I'm a probie too." He gave her a slight wave as he moved down the hall. "Feel free to join us if you want, otherwise I'll see you at o-five hundred tomorrow in the barn."

He didn't see her for the rest of the night but he heard the floor boards squeak later on and the water turn on in the bathroom. She didn't appear downstairs afterwards and by the time the crew headed to bed, her door was shut and the light was out.

--

He'd gotten up when his internal alarm went off and crawled out of bed and into old jeans and a sweatshirt. When he left the bunkroom he'd shared with two other Rangers, he still saw her door shut and no light on. He decided to go downstairs to grab a bite to eat and if she wasn't up by then, he'd wake her so they could get their morning chores done.

He headed downstairs and flipped on the light to the kitchen. He nearly jumped out of his skin to find Crane sitting at the table, staring out the window. She had found the darkest shadows and was simply sitting there, enjoying a glass of orange juice. She smirked a little, "For someone as observant as you, I thought you'd at least smell the scent of OJ in the air." She commented.

Cody shrugged a little and changed the subject, "How long you been up?" he asked.

"Not long." She stated and left it at that.

He motioned to her, "Come on. Stalls don't muck themselves." He stated with a grimace and downed his juice before putting the glass in the sink, followed soon by hers as she got up from the table.

The next hour went by fairly quickly. She wasn't afraid of hard or dirty work as she helped muck out the stalls, toss down new straw from the loft, curried the horses, feed and water them before hauling the mess outside to dump in the steaming pile of compost. She tossed a little bit of lime on top of things and then some snow. It was obvious to Cody that she'd been around horses before and knew how to clean up after them.

The smells of breakfast were wafting out the air vent of the kitchen as they made their way inside and took their turns getting showers. She heard someone complaining through the door that they had just gotten used to Robin's schedule of taking up extra bathroom time but now there was another woman to delay the mix. When she came out of the shower room within ten minutes of entering, washed, hair braided, fully dressed and shower kit in hand, she raised an eyebrow at the offending voice but said nothing since the blush on their face was retribution enough.

The rest of the Rangers had filed into the kitchen, some still not quite awake and some were simply there, physically but not mentally. Cody, Crane and Mark were the only three really awake. It was Mark's week to cook breakfast. Introductions were made that hadn't been made the night before as people wandered in. The morning had started off pretty good but by lunch, Crane had already had to prove her piloting skills as they were called out to a skiing accident on the side of a mountain. They couldn't get the skier down without possibly causing more injury due to the rough slopes so they needed to be air lifted out.

Crane suited up and climbed into the newer chopper with two others and with little other than direction, longitude and latitude, they were off and heading quickly to the slope. She temporarily set down diagonal on the slope from the injured and those staying with him. Two of the rangers jumped out with the backboard, basket and med kit. It was her job to take off and circle around, looking for any other dangers and to stay out of the way until they signaled her to come back to get them.

It didn't take long and with quick instructions on staying exactly where they were, she set down just uphill from them. It was just a pinpoint precision drill for her and she told them to hook the rope around the rung to help lever up the injured to the chopper instead of carrying them. The person was soon secured into the chopper as she kept one rung on the hillside and one rung airborne. It kept the chopper level and kept snow from sliding down hill with the full weight of the chopper pushing it off the slope.

Once everyone was loaded and secured, she slipped easily sideways and took the chopper level with the trees before gaining a little altitude and heading towards the hospital. Izzy and Mark were the two Rangers with her and they could only stare at her. No one had ever maneuvered that exact before. She ignored them as she reported her bearings to the tower and hospital with an ETA. Once the patient was offloaded at the hospital with a gentle touchdown, she took her team back to the cabin where she powered down the chopper and climbed out.

Mark was the first to disappear as Izzy stood there, still staring at her. She stared back at him, "Yes?" she finally asked.

He opened his mouth and then closed it before taking a breath and saying, "That was the best damned flying I've ever seen. How did you do that?" he asked in awe.

She shrugged, "After flying Huey's and Troop Haulers for a number of years, this little whirly gig is like spreading melted butter on hot toast." She said before turning and heading inside.

Cody looked up from the fridge where he was crouched in front of as Crane entered the kitchen. "Hey. Well I hate to tell you this but they didn't leave us much to make supper with. You think they're trying to make life hell for us on our first day?" He stated.

Crane took off her coat and gear and tossed it into a chair before going over and looking in the freezer and the fridge. Cody spoke up as he watched her, "I had a few ideas but they aren't the best and I'm not sure how much you can help…."

Crane turned and looked at him, an eyebrow raised, "Hope they don't mind oysters, egg noodles and pickled beets." she said loud enough to be heard outside the open kitchen door. She could almost hear the gagging coming from the living room. She wasn't surprised to see Cody looking a little pale too. She motioned to Cody to shut the door.

Cody shut the kitchen door and looked at her in utter confusion as she went over to one of the bench seats in the kitchen nook and lifted the lid. Cody blinked, unaware that there was storage under them as she began pulling out a box of rice, several cans of chunk chicken, the brick of cheese in a foil wrapper, two cans of Creamed Chicken soup. "Where'd all this stuff come from?" he asked

Crane looked at him with a steady gray-blue gaze, "I might be new to being a 'ranger' but I'm not new to the pranks one plays on a probie. This morning I stashed away the makings of something that will hold if we get a call at the wrong time. I knew they'd 'empty' the kitchen of anything that could be made to make a meal."

"I thought you said you couldn't cook." he stated.

She shut the lid on the seat, "I said I didn't see much need for it. Doesn't mean I don't know how to cook. My mom was a ranch and chuck wagon cook. You pick up a few things along the way." She stated.

She motioned for him to help her get stuff to the counter and they worked for an hour cooking, stirring, chopping and peeling. Once things were assembled and put into a casserole dish, it was placed in the oven and the two worked quietly on dishes. Half an hour later, the table was set and she was pulling the casserole out of the oven. She had heated up large can of peas and put out slices of bread in a covered basket.

The supper bell was rung and within a few minutes, four rangers came in, looking around as if not quite sure what they would be getting for supper. Grace was said and Crane began dishing out the pile of 'goop' from the casserole dish. Several faces looked at it questionably, giving it a quick sniff. The first bite was hesitant to say the least but when they realized that it tasted fantastic, there was little else but the sounds of forks hitting the bottom of the plates.

Robin looked up at Crane when she was done with her meal. "So I have to ask….is there anything you can't do?" she asked seriously.

Crane raised an eyebrow, "If I answer that, everyone would know my weaknesses and the last thing an ex-marine does is to televise it." She said with a straight face but Cody caught the slight look of impishness in her eyes.

Mark spoke up, "So what you're saying is either you don't know what you can't do or you're too embarrassed to let us know." He teased lightly.

She shrugged, her expression unreadable, "I prefer not to say. I have faults and I do know what I can't do but… that's for me to know and you…well, you guys obviously couldn't find your way out of a wet paper bag so I doubt you'll ever find out." She stood up from the table, "Hope you enjoyed supper. If someone doesn't get the supplies back in the kitchen that were here this morning, I might be tempted to feed you dog food without you ever knowing." She only turned then and walked out the kitchen door.


	6. Chapter 5

After six months on the job, Crane finally asked for a day off. This being an odd sort of request from someone who never asked for time off and rarely left to go to town, it was granted easily enough. She left before breakfast and drove down to Tahoe. Matt still didn't know what to make of this retired Gunnery Sergeant who never said a word about being assigned jobs that it seemed everyone railed against but did anyway. She was private about her life and some nights they'd sit around, trying to figure out if they knew anything else about her. Usually there was very little that was let slip which left them wondering even more about her.

When they tried to get her involved in discussions about family life or growing up, she did little to add to the conversation. Their information of her family extended to the fact that she was an only child. Her parents were both dead. Her father had been a Vietnam Vet but cancer took him early in life. Her mother had been a cook for a ranch and did Chuck Wagon cooking for cattle drives too. They knew she had been lived some of her life in Wyoming but where or when, the details were few and far between.

Matt wasn't sure if he should check her out further but instead he made a quick call to the local Sherriff to see if he had anyone to keep an eye out for where she went to on her day off. It was easily enough to convince the Sherriff since he owed Matt several favors. Mac did it himself and went touring around town on his rounds, looking for her old Ford truck. He spotted it outside a small café before calling in one of his deputies who was off duty and asked them to go in and do a little 'spy' work.

The morning passed as the Sheriff waited to hear the results and by two in the afternoon, he saw Crane leave the café and head over to her truck, climbing in and heading off somewhere else. He put his personal car in gear and began to tail her. She headed to the local box store and came out a few hours later with a cart of groceries and other necessities. When she pulled out of the parking lot, he noted that she was heading towards the Ranger station. His job was done for the most part. He had to get back to work and also have a chat with his deputy.

--

"Are you sure you heard correctly?" Mac asked his deputy.

The guy nodded, "Yeah. I had my laptop in there with my back to the wall in the booth next to them. I had the auditory sensors plugged in as if I was listening to music but it helped me pick up what they were saying at times. I typed up what I could."

He pulled up the file on his laptop and let Mac begin sifting through the conversation. "I think I need to contact Matt and I need to pull a records report with the military on her. If what you caught them saying is true, Matt needs to know."

Mac picked up the phone and dialed Matt's number, letting it ring. When Robin answered, he asked for Matt in a friendly tone. When Matt answered the phone, he explained to him that he was sending him a transcript of what his deputy was able to record in the café she'd been sitting in with another man for several hours. He needed to look it over and that Mac was going to pull her file up through the military and any thing else he could.

--

Matt's stomach sank when Mac told him about the file he was sending and how he was going to pull military information on her to verify if the information was true or not. His headache that had started earlier that day seemed to get ten times worse in the length of that one conversation that he simply sighed and told Robin he needed some time to review a few files before he was available again.

Robin looked at him questionably but nodded and shrugged. She was due any day now and he could only hope that things had hit a lull before then. He shut the door and went over to his computer, pulling up the file that Mac had sent him. He skimmed through the first few pages before realizing he really needed to start at the top. What he was reading so far was a bit confusing if he didn't have all the facts.

'_Miguel, you know I love you like a brother but you worry too much for your own good.' said Crane._

_'And you worry too little Gunny. This is serious.'_

_Crane sighed, 'If I took everything as seriously as you make it out to be, I'd be hiding in the back of a closet somewhere, afraid to move for fear someone would be out to get me.' she stated._

_It was Miguel's turn to sigh now, more of a sigh of exasperation. 'Gunny, we miss you and we know why you retired but … you would have at least been safe within the protection of the Military. Out here with these back woods hicks, you've got nobody to watch your back like we could.'_

_Crane looked Miguel over with a gentle gaze. 'They would have gotten out whether I'd stayed in or not. You're acting like I'm a Private out on my first tour. I'm good at improvising, overcoming and adapting to anything life throws at me. It's why I'm still alive.'_

_'Hoorah' was all Miguel said to that._

_'Besides, they aren't back woods hicks…well maybe Izzy but the rest are pretty good at taking care of themselves. I like it here….' She said but was interrupted soon enough by Miguel._

_'Yeah, but do you fit in here? You always were the odd duck. We were all a little shocked when you decided to retire and then just disappeared off the face of the earth. It took me two months alone to track you down. If I can do it, so can they.' His voice sounded worried again._

_Rubbing her eyes, she looked at Miguel, 'Then explain to me once again, for my dense civilian head that can't seem to wrap around it, why I should worry about these yahoos.' She asked._

_Miguel looked like he wanted to reach across the table and strangle her. 'Because you put them away for life, Gunny. You still limp a little when the weather's damp and rainy don't you? Have all the cuts and scars healed over yet? Don't you remember what they did to you!? If we hadn't found you when we did, I'd be visiting your gravesite with flowers every year. It's because of you that Frank made it back to see his baby boy for the first time. It's because of you that I made it back to see my sister graduate from college, not to mention the other guys in the platoon that have family. They beat you until there was hardly anything left to piece back together and yet you sit across from me telling me you're not worried that they've gotten early parole due to some technicality and a slimy lawyer. You know they'll be coming to find you to get even. It's just who they are.'_

_She sighed a little and grew quiet. Finally she looked up at him, 'I appreciate you telling me Miguel but honestly, I can't be crippled by waiting for them to find me. I promise to be careful, but if or when they make an appearance, there's nothing I can do right now to stop them and I'm not going to go into hiding.'_

_Miguel grumbled something under his breath. 'You know Max said he'd kill you if he ever got out.'_

_There was an unladylike snort from the other side of the table, 'And Max was the biggest blowhole of them all. How can I take a threat like that seriously?'_

_Miguel took a drink from his cup of coffee that had started to get cold. 'Nothing I say is going to convince you to disappear for awhile, is there.' He stated more than asked._

_'Nope…so you might as well get on with telling me the gossip and how everyone else is doing. I don't get out much and since I haven't published where I live, its hard to get post if no one knows where you are.' She joked, finishing her cup of tea._

Matt skimmed through the next few pages which just turned out to be idle chatter in regards to catching up with what had been going on in the last six months and who was doing what, promotions, transfers and retirements. Finally they had parted ways and she made mention of needing to get back to the ranger station after stopping and picking up some supplies.

Miguel had shaken her hand and hugged her before heading out. She'd paid the bill, left a nice tip for the waitress and headed out herself. What worried him was the discussion about someone being out to get her or get revenge on her. That could potentially put them all in danger if these people obviously had done something serious enough to be sent to military prison for it.

But the legal system had been thwarted again by some slick lawyer. Matt needed information on who had gotten out and what they had done to her. His gut told him he needed to know and soon to be best prepared for what might come. He called Mac and asked him for anything he got on her and her records and to pull strings or favors if need be. He needed to know more before he went to talk to her. She obviously would hardly broach the subject with one of her own men, how could he expect her to confide in him about something like this.

Mac gave confirmation he'd let Matt know something as soon as he knew anything but it might take a few days to get what they were looking for if the files weren't deemed classified. Until then he and Matt agreed to keep a low profile on the whole thing but to keep their eyes open for anything out of the ordinary.

--

Reviews please? Pretty please with sugar on top? Thanks :)


	7. Chapter 6

A week later, Robin went into labor and a beautiful baby girl was brought into the world. Matt was quite the proud father and the five of them, Robin, Matt, Baby Jessica and their two sons, spent some time away from the station since there was a serious lull in the amount of accidents and need for rescues. Crane volunteered to handle the phones unless she was needed for flight duty. Cody helped keep things running until his brother's return.

Izzy and Mark spent most of the time trying to make sure gear was stocked and ready to go for any kind of emergency. The first aid kits were restocked, updated and reorganized. It had been a busy winter and everyone seemed to be waiting for the storm to hit after the calm. When spring and summer came sliding in with warm weather, so did the back yard adventurers as people began hiking and climbing for the season.

Crane worked on the chopper in her spare time, the jeeps and trucks and getting the snowmobiles ready for storage. She hardly spoke to anyone unless asked a direct question and even then, her answers were short and to the point. She kept to herself when not on duty, usually found reading, tending the horses or the equipment as if just needing something to keep her busy.

Matt had been relaxing at his dad's cabin when Sheriff Mac had come up to talk to him. He carried a folder with him as thick as his thumb and Matt could tell by the look on Macs face that this was serious business. Matt invited Mac into the cabin and Robin offered him a cup of coffee now that the baby was down to sleep for a while with Jeremiah and Jimmy down for a nap.

They sat around the table for a bit and Mac finally spoke up. "I pulled a few favors and got what you asked for. Most of this has to get back to the 'rightful owner' in the next twenty-four hours so I don't have much time." Mac opened the folder and began laying out photos. "This one is of Crane and her platoon. These others are of her when she was doing tours overseas. Apparently she blew the whistle on some major drug trafficking operation she uncovered as well as testifying against these three men…." He pulled out three mug shots. One was labeled Max Devon, the second Angelo Garcia and the last John Montgomery.

Matt looked at each photo, memorizing them. Mac continued, "All three got sentenced and were put away due to her testimony. It took a year to convict them since she had apparently been hospitalized due to the injuries she received by their hands. She had been fed false intel on their operations and when her troop was assigned to take the compound, it turned into an all out battle just to get back out again. They shot and killed three of her men and while she covered their exit, allowed Lt. Miguel and the rest of the platoon to escape with little injury. By the time they returned regrouped and called in reinforcements, Max, Angelo and John had taken her captive and moved Crane elsewhere."

Mac was quiet, not showing any of the other photos in the folder for a moment. He chewed on his lip a little then looked at Robin and Matt. "I won't show you the next set of photos unless you think you can handle it. They show what was left of Crane when they finally found her. It was touch and go with her survival for the next two months since her injuries were so severe. The doctors had done their best but had already written her off as never being able to fully recover. That was five years ago. Obviously she has but…if you had shown me these pictures and then told me the mutilated body in them had lived and was walking around right now, almost fully recovered, I would have called you a liar."

Mac looked between the two and at their silent nods, flipped over the first picture and the shocked looks on their faces said it all. Matt had seen quite a bit in his life but even this scared him, causing all color to drain from his face. Robin quickly looked away after gasping. She originally trained as an EMT and nurse but even she couldn't look at the ruined form of the woman in the pictures.

The picture was in black and white, keeping some of the details a little more distant. The human form in the picture was held up by two large meat hooks through her forearms. One leg had a tourniquet on it to obviously keep her alive and from bleeding to death but the gash below the belt was so deep it looked as though it had almost severed the leg off. The form was naked and her back was to the camera. The skin on her back was flayed off with whips and cuts so bad that there was nothing left to stitch together. Blood ran down her back and legs.

Her head had been roughly shaved and deep gouges had been cut into her scalp where chunks of hair had been cut away. Blood ran down her neck and joined the blood from her back. Mac flipped through a few more pictures. Some were of the front and the deep cuts across her breasts that left her 'ruined' caused Robin to look ill and quickly get up to leave the room. Matt could hear her sniffles from the main room and knew she was crying.

Mac then handed him the report about her injuries and recovery. The second report he handed him was from two months ago about the release of two of the three men. The third had died in prison due to complications with pneumonia. Max and John were now free and on the loose, who knows where. Matt knew that these men had raped, drugged, abused and abandoned this woman and if they could do that with no remorse, he knew they were capable of doing it again. He suddenly feared not only for Crane but for those associated with her. He now understood why she kept herself distant from everyone even though everyone at some time or another had attempted to pull her into the 'family'.

He sighed and shut the folder. "Thanks for your information Mac. Until these two guys commit a crime, there's little we can do except keep our eyes open for them. Please circulate their photos to those you can trust and have them contact us if they see anyone matching their descriptions or with their names. I don't want to be caught off guard. Nothing may come of it but my gut tells me she's not seen the last of them yet."

Mac agreed and picked up the folder. "I'll keep this on the QT for now. I would at least approach her and let her know that you know what happened." He stood and pushed in his chair. He looked at Matt with a sad smile. "…she received the CMH and a Purple Heart because of this. Bet she never told you that, did she."

Matt blinked at her, "She's got a CMH?" he asked to verify and at Macs nod, Matt whistled softly. "No, she never brought it up. Maybe I need to bring it up to her to 'break the ice' so to speak." He mentioned.

Mac only shrugged and then headed out to his horse and headed back down to civilization while Matt and Robin talked quietly about what they now knew about the recent addition to the Rangers. They both seemed to understand quietly without speaking that they seemed to understand more about Crane now then they'd learned in over six months. The sound of Jessica crying brought them out of their discussion and the youngster was seen to, bringing an end to that discussion.


	8. Chapter 7

Matt returned a few days later with Robin and the three kids. Jessica was instilled in the cradle next to his mom's desk. Crane relinquished the phone duties happily. After fixing lunch for everyone, they all sat around the table, munching down on sandwiches and chips as they chatted about the baby and other things. Matt looked at Crane and then finally spoke up.

"Hey Crane, I was doing some research on the internet and saw you're a recipient of a Purple Heart and the CMH." He knew that such listings of honors were accessible via the internet but he hadn't really gone out to verify. The conversation at the table grew completely still as all eyes looked to her.

She turned those gray-blue eyes towards him as she became completely unreadable. She was silent. He knew she couldn't deny it since the CMH was an honor and something not to be taken lightly. She set her sandwich down, swallowing the bite she had just taken before the question. "Yes." was all she answered in return but her eyes had gone lifeless.

Izzy wowed softly, "A CMH…and the Purple Heart? You never told us." he stated.

Crane flicked her eyes towards Izzy and then back to Matt. "Saved my platoon from being taken during a raid. Intel was false and things went sideways. I made a call that got them out." She stated, leaving it at that.

Cody picked up on the subtle change in her body language and her sudden coldness and unemotional attitude. "If you'll excuse me…." She stated as she stood up, leaving her sandwich still on her plate. As she walked past Matt, he stopped her with a hand on her arm.

She hadn't quite come to a stop after his hand had touched her arm. In the split second it took for his fingers to tighten on her wrist, her other hand struck his arm so quickly that no one had time to react. Matt let out a yelp and winced as his fingers went numb and tingly, a look of shock on his face as he shook his hand. Cody was half out of his seat before it even registered with the others what she'd done. "I will say this only once. _Do not_ touch me without my permission." There was no emotion in her voice, nothing but cold calculation and the verbal equivalent of a slap to the face. She turned and quickly left the kitchen and if it hadn't been for the bells on the front door, no one would have heard her leave.

Matt looked back at the others sitting around the table, everyone's stunned faces looking back at him. Cody sat back down since the threat to his brother had passed. Matt shook his hand a little more and felt the numbness going away. Whatever she had done to him was quite effective. He'd lost all control of his hand long enough for her to pull herself away without any further violence. Izzy was the first to speak up, "What was that all about?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Matt looked at Robin, then at the others. "She covered the exit while her platoon got out, though three didn't make it. Killed on the spot. When backup arrived to take the area, they found that she'd been taken somewhere else by the opposition. She was very close to death by the time they found her due to extreme injuries and blood loss. She spent a year in recovery and another doing physical therapy. The rest of her story is hers to tell but those that did this to her are now out of prison due to some technicality. Two men. One has apparently sworn to finish what he started five years ago with her. That's one of the reasons she's kept her distance from all of us." Matt was quiet for a few moments before speaking up again, "I'll ask that you don't bother her about it. Just keep your eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary or out of place for the next few months at least."

Everyone nodded but the conversation at the table came to a stop and the silence was only broken by Jessica letting her intentions be known that she was awake and hungry. Robin got up to take care of her while the rest sat around and stared at their plates, replaying the last ten minutes in their minds. Finally, one by one, each got up and went about their business.

--

She had left the station as quickly as possible, picking up a radio to clip to her belt and her coat. She took nothing else as she headed into the hills around the station, simply needing to get away from everyone at the moment and the staring eyes. She would never forget those few days she'd been in their hands. It ate at her stomach and nerves at times when she was worn down and tired. She tried kept busy at the station because if she did nothing, she'd have time to think about it, even five and a half years later.

She read to keep her mind active or worked on puzzles until her eyes were too heavy to keep open at night which usually resulted in her sleeping with the beside lamp on which helped sometimes when she'd wake from the nightmares that crawled through her brain when she was upset. She had spent the last few nights since meeting with Miguel and learning her tormenters were out of prison only four years after she'd put them in there.

She walked through the woods, the snow still visible in the shade where the sun wasn't far enough in the sky to melt it. She did her best to avoid areas that would leave tracks and to walk lightly. She didn't care where she went but she knew she needed to find a place where she could take her frustrations out in private and being stared as if she were a freak. After walking several miles, she finally found a stream that was flowing high, the edges littered with rocks that had washed in and had been deposited by the glaciers a hundred thousand years ago.

She reached down and picked up a stone, looking it over before throwing it as hard as she could with a grunt of effort. She bent down and picked up another one, testing its weight in her hand before throwing that one too. This pattern continued for several hours as she switched throwing arms when one grew tired. She had gone from throwing the rocks out into the forest across the stream to throwing them against a large bolder upstream and watching them explode or shoot off into another direction. The bolder remained untouched except for a few nicks it took. Her mind worked over and over, telling her she had to be like that bolder but the rest of her told her she couldn't continue like this.

The sun was beating down, warming up everything around her. As some point she had taken off her jacket and her sweatshirt, revealing the t-shirt under it. Her skin held a tan from years of working out in the sun. The only parts that wouldn't tan were the large scars on her arms. Her arms were muscled from the workouts and the training she did along with her platoon. She picked up another rock and with a grunt, threw it as hard as she could upstream. She didn't feel it was safe to scream out her frustrations without someone hearing and coming to investigate, so giving a good grunt with each throw helped to relieve some of the tension.

She took a break to assess herself mentally and physically. She was sweating and her arms were trembling a little with the effort of repeated throws. She didn't know how long she'd been here but she knew it was over two hours. She looked upward at the sky and squinted towards the sun and then looked down at her shadow. She sighed and knew she had responsibilities to attend to that she couldn't ignore. It was the one thing that kept her going. She pulled on her sweatshirt before she could cool down too fast and then when to the stream to wash her hands. The water was near freezing but it felt good, felt tangible, something she could hold in her mind.

She stood, pulling on her coat after wiping her hands off on her pants and began retracing her steps back to the cabin. The station had been rather subdued after Crane had taken off. They noted she'd taken a radio so they knew she wouldn't go out of radio distance if they needed her. Thankfully, the weather was just cold enough to keep people off the mountain yet, but warm enough to melt the snow, making things a muddy wet mess that kept even some of the most intrepid adventurers within a safe distance. Cody watched the skies as the sun began to set and was about to put on his jacket to start tracking her when the bells on the front door rang, causing everyone to look up.

Crane stood in the doorway, looking a little more calm than she had earlier when she'd left. Most of the rangers looked away and back to whatever they had been doing. Three of them were in a game of poker. Matt and Robin were in their own private quarters, leaving only Cody as the odd man out. She wiped off her boots before she kicked them off and set them against the rack with the others. She didn't say anything as she put the radio back in the charger rack after turning it off. She headed up to her bunkroom to get cleaned up before it was her turn to do the dishes after supper.

Matt and Robin came back from their area a few minutes later after putting Jessica down for a nap. Matt caught up to Cody as he was heading upstairs, "Is Crane back?" he asked.

Cody nodded, "Yeah" and looked up the stairs towards the room at the end of the hall before continuing on to his bunk to get cleaned up for supper. It was his turn to cook.

A few minutes later he heard a knock on another door, the door being opened and then shut. Cody got the sense that Matt had gone to talk to Crane about the incident at lunch.

Crane wasn't surprised by the knock on the door. She was expecting it and she got up and went over to open the door up. Matt entered and shut the door quietly behind him. He watched her for a moment and then went over to sit on the bottom bunk bed. He was quiet for a moment as she stood at ease near the door, across the room from him.

Matt finally looked up at her. "About this afternoon, I'm sorry." He stated evenly.

Crane watched him for a moment longer, then pulled out a desk chair and turned it backwards, straddling it. She crossed her arms on the top and put her chin on them. "You've never been in the military Matt, though the Rangers do have some structure about them, its not like living with twenty or more other soldiers and being a female to boot." She was quiet for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts.

When Matt shook his head, she continued, "I was one of the few women that went into the Marine Boot Camp that round that made it out and with high marks. I had something going for me and that was the fact that I'd spent most of my life working cattle and horses on my Uncles ranch. I had to learn early how to be tough and pull my own weight. But because I'm a woman, I also learned I had to prove my worth over and over and over again when a man with the same qualifications only had to do it once and he was set. I learned how to fly choppers since we owned one to use to herd cattle and check on the ranch quickly without having to saddle a horse." She closed her eyes a little, remembering the hard life she'd lived on the ranch.

"I went into the military when my Uncle died and his son inherited the ranch. His son was a city slicker and only ever came back to the ranch to borrow more money from my uncle. He had some grand scheme to open it up as a dude ranch for tourists but last I heard, he'd wracked up so much debt that the bank seized the property and what stock was left." She frowned a little at the wall, her eyes distant.

She sighed a little and rubbed her eyes. "I learned a lot of things on the ranch from my dad, my uncle and all the other guys working cattle there. Most of them were vets from one branch of military or another. They thought it was great fun to teach me new things like how to fight, how to defend myself and how to unarm opponents. It was a game to them to try and sneak attack me or catch me off guard." She smirked a little and saw Matt chuckle a little, only imagining what it must have been like.

"So to say I made waves in Boot Camp was an understatement. I worked my way up through the ranks slowly since I had to repetitively prove my worth over and over. I had just become Gunnery Sergeant when my platoon was sent to Iraq. That was late 2002. Within six months, I'd discovered a couple of foreigners and Americans that were smuggling drugs through the system. I reported my findings and on the command of those higher up, coordinated an attack with the intel we were getting. Bad intel, bad all around. They knew we were coming." She took a deep breath and looked at Matt.

He could tell this was getting difficult to recount but he remained quiet. He looked up a little as she continued, "Our point man was first through the door as we surrounded the building but the door was on a trap spring. It would slam shut as soon as you went inside and there was no way to get the door open from inside. I don't remember all the details but the first two guys through died. Several more were pinned down and I went over and got the door open, wedging it with my foot, using it as cover. I got the men out and was about to let the door snap shut when a grenade exploded behind me, throwing me past the door and into the room…"

She grew quiet, her forehead on her arms as she got her heart rate under control but her mind raced with what it could remember. She took another deep breath and then looked up at Matt. "I don't remember much after that except pain and flashes of sanity just after they'd pumped me full of adrenalin to keep me alive and awake. After awhile I became numb to it all no matter what they did." She swallowed and looked away. "My platoon found me and it was all the commanding officers could do to keep my men from killing my captors right there."

Matt looked at her worriedly but still kept silent, letting her take her own pace. It took a few minutes for her to get herself under control internally. Finally she looked at the floor over the edge of the back of the chair. "Matt, I shouldn't be here. I was almost bled out. I had no skin left on my back and my body was so strung out on adrenaline that I actually went through DT because of the sudden lack of it. My leg…" she grew quiet. "It took a year for me to be able to get out of the hospital. It took another year of long days of physical and psychiatric therapy to get me to be a functioning human being again. When I was released for duty again because of the progress I'd made and that I could pass any physical test they put me through, I was put in charge of a Med Evac troop. I flew choppers for two more tours in Iraq before finally looking to get out."

She finally spoke quietly, "That was five and a half years ago. I still can barely stand to have anyone touch me…even doctors. How can I be a human, afraid to wear a t-shirt or a fancy dress because the scars on my body are so hideous that people do nothing but stare and look at me with fear or pity. I don't know if I can ever be normal again." She was quiet then for awhile as she looked at him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I came with baggage. I wasn't forthcoming with you when we met the first time." She stated, looking slightly ashamed.

For one moment, Matt saw a crack in her cold ice armor that was holding back the flood waters. She swallowed and it was quickly gone. He sighed softly, moving to where he was facing her completely. His elbows were on his knees and his hands folded out in front of him. "Crane, you've done absolutely nothing wrong. You are a fantastic Ranger. In these past months, you've shown us that you can fly a chopper better than anyone else I've ever met. You know how to handle emergency situations with efficiency and a calm mental attitude when everything else is going to pot around you. To be honest, you're more qualified to run this place than I am."

He was quiet for a moment as he looked at the floor then back up to her. "We're different Crane. We're a family. We look out and take care of one another. Up here in these extreme conditions, we have to. You proved yourself on the first day that you don't complain about what chores you're assigned to, that you are one hell of a pilot and you're a great cook. But you've kept everyone at arms length and though everyone respects your need for privacy, they really want to get to know you if you'd just let them."

He was quiet now as he looked at her. He looked back down the floor as she remained sitting, wrestling with her inner self. She looked back up at him. "There's something else you should know. Two months ago, two of the three men I put away got out of prison on a technicality some lawyer found in a loophole. One of them threatened to finish what he started before he went in." She swallowed a little, "I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me if he's able to track me down. I'm not afraid of him. On a bit more level playing field I'd be able to wipe the parking lot with him but he doesn't operate within known boundaries. And where one goes, so does the other. They'll hurt or kill anyone that's with me given half the chance."

Matt raised an eyebrow and watched her as she watched him. He nodded, "I honestly understand your fear on this. Cody and I have been in more scrapes with people out for revenge than I can even count. My dad didn't make enemies very often but when he did, they usually had family that were willing to try and destroy dad and us along with him." He smiled a little. "So I'm used to double crosses and issues with wanting to keep your distance. But we want you to be a part of our team. We need you like we need any of the other rangers. There's no need to keep proving yourself. We trust in your actions and your judgments, but we also want to get to know you better."

She looked away for a moment, laying her forehead on her arms that cradled the back of the chair. She remained still, her heartbeat making the only noise she could hear. Matt was silent, respecting her need to deal with what was going on inside. Finally she let out a sigh of frustration. He knew she was having difficulty coming to terms with this.

The dinner bell rang just about then and Matt stood, "Dinner's ready." He held out a hand to her. "We honestly want you to become part of this family, Gunny. If these guys come looking for you, they'll have to deal with all of us and there's power in numbers." He said, his grip firm but warm.

Crane blinked again, "Gunny? Where the hell did that come from….?" She asked, completely caught off guard for once.

Matt shrugged, "Well if you hung out around the guys more often, you'd know that's the nickname they've dubbed you with. Easier to say Gunny than Crane. Don't see how, but there it is."

Crane blinked and then blinked again and for the first time, Matt actually saw her smile a little more than a smirk. She even chuckled a little. He normally would tease someone about the fact that they had actually laughed but he felt he'd gone far enough for now and simply smiled in return.

She had taken his hand and returned the grip. "When you're used to distancing yourself from everything, it's hard to find that happy medium. I only ask for time and patience."

Matt nodded and headed out the door, back to the kitchen and the warmth of his friends and family. He knew she'd come around some day and didn't expect miracles but they now saw more eye to eye. He knew more about her and she knew where he stood as the leader and as a friend. It was as good of a start as any.


	9. Chapter 8

There is a bit of violence in this. Nothing too bad but it's just a warning. Please keep the reviews coming. It feeds my muse. I also love chatting with others about where the story might go or coming up with ideas to continue.

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Just shy of a year after joining the Rangers, Gunny was still hesitant to open up to too many but she'd found herself growing accustomed to having the rangers around, especially Cody. Cody was always calm and quiet around her, sometimes speaking only a few words between them when they were working on something. They hung out from time to time during their time off.

Five months had passed since the incident at the lunch table when Matt had touched her arm. Between keeping busy and the hectic schedule it seemed like they were on, Gunny didn't have much time to think about her past life though some nights found her waking up in a cold sweat, every muscle in her body taunt like a bow string ready to fire an arrow. The dreams and memories came and went depending on if she'd helped with a particularly bad case or rescue. But, she was a solider and simply 'soldiered' on.

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The intercom button went off in the bunkrooms and Robin called out to the crew that there was an accident on the main road leading down to town. A car had gone off the road and there were several injured individuals. Within seconds of the call, the sound of thumping and banging could be heard as the crew got suited up for the below freezing weather and the snow.

The snow had let up enough for the plows to come through but the road conditions were still slick and treacherous to come down off the mountain with. Gunny was the first out the door and had the chopper warming up as she gathered gear that could be tied to the car to stabilize it or to winch up an injured person. By the time she was ready to go, the others had arrived with first aid packs, gear and the snowmobiles were being prepped to take off to head down the road. Cody and Izzy would be flying with her today while the others got down to the accident on snowmobiles. She got clearance to take off after the other two were strapped in.

They arrived within ten minutes of the call and were the first on the scene. She set down on the road and let Cody and Izzy off. She got the chopper shut down and climbed out, popping flares as she started closing off the road. Cody ran over to the car that was still on the road, doing a quick head count and look over of the people inside before looking over the ledge to see where the other car was. Gunny saw him wince as he looked down the steep cliff. He signaled with his hands to get climbing gear. She turned around and got in the back of the chopper and began pulling out harnesses and gear, with Izzy helping to get her harnessed up. He'd be the guide for her rope and lookout for her decent. Cody went back to the car still on the road and started to assess each person in it for injuries and asking questions as to what happened.

With a sharp whistle, Cody looked up as Gunny signaled she was going over the edge as Izzy controlled the climbing ropes from the road where they were attached to a section of the guardrail still in tact and anchored. Cody and Izzy knew how to climb but she was quicker and better at it due to her Marines training. He nodded and she descended down the steep bank, into the trees that grew parallel to the rock face. She could see the car down below and worked her way down slowly as she kept her eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary. She heard the snowmobiles arrive and shut down, mentally noting the rest of the team had arrived. She was only eighty feet from the car when she noticed the body caught in the trees. She reached for the radio mic on her shoulder and called up that she was going to check on a body in the trees and how far down she was. She clipped the radio back onto her shoulder harness and swung over to where she could get a better look at the body.

She heard confirmation from Matt as she swung over and grabbed onto the tree limb near her. She got closer and stood up on the limb, taking the tension off the climbing rope. As she drew closer she knew the man was dead. He was impaled up on a branch that was through his chest and back but she knew at second glance that it wasn't what killed him. The bullet hole between the eyes is what caused it. The back of his head was blown out and she'd probably find evidence that it had happened while he was driving. This suddenly made her hair stand up on her arms, knowing from the looks of it that this was caused by no hunting riffle. This was caused by a high power sniper riffle if her guess was correct. She grabbed the radio mic on her shoulder again and hit the intercom button.

"Gunny calling Flying Tiger…come in Tiger." She hailed.

"This is Flying Tiger, go ahead Gunny." Replied Matt.

"Male, Caucasian, DoA. Sustained massive head trauma from a bullet between the eyes. We're going to need saws and a body bag. He's imp……"

Her voice cut out as she felt the bullet hit her square in the left shoulder. She heard the crack of the riffle a second later as her hand automatically let go of the radio button. The shock of the wound left her stunned for a split second as her body jerked from the impact and she tumbled off the tree limb. Her climbing ropes caught her as she fell but nothing could keep her from slamming into the rock face of the hillside.

She could hear Matt calling to her on the radio as she struggled to reach up and hit the mic. She managed to squeeze it, her hand shaking, "Taking fire, taking fire. I'm hit!" was all she got out before another bullet clipped the rope she was hanging from and sent her falling down the cliff face. She was already over a ninty feet down and this was the part of the mountain where the road didn't switch back so there was nothing but rocks, cliff and trees for some distance.

She scrambled for purchase on the rocks, trying to control her decent as her shoulder screamed in pain. Her legs impacted one outcropping of rocks after another, causing her left femur to snap somewhere along the way. She still couldn't get full control her decent but the ground was beginning to slope outward as she got closer to the valley floor. She tumbled head over heels until she finally slammed into the underbelly of the car that was bent around a tree. She let a yell of pain as she felt herself come to a sudden stop against the car that had become mangled on its destructive decent.

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When Izzy sudden felt the line go heavy just seconds after the sound of a riffle being fired, he feared the worst. It had caught him off guard and jerked him towards the guard rail till he got his feet planted and leaned back. When he heard her voice over the com that she'd been hit, it confirmed his worst fears. He was staining against the weight on the ropes.

The ropes suddenly went slack and he stumbled backwards, landing hard on his ass. The sound of the second riffle shot echoed through the hills. He was yelling something as he quickly scrambled and ran do the ledge, knowing there was nothing let on the end of the rope.

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She sat there stunned, unable to move as the darkness threatened to take her. She could hear someone calling out over the radio for her to report but she couldn't seem to comprehend at the moment what she had to do to trigger the radio. It wasn't until someone walked in front of her that she jerked in surprise and came out of her stupor. The form that was in front of her was one out of her nightmares. He had a radio in his hand and a smile on his face.

"Ya got her Max. We only have a few minutes before the rangers can get down here." He knelt down next to her as he smiled at her. It was smile that could make a dead man shiver. "Looky looky what we have here. With as bad as we done you last time, I never would have guessed you would survive to testify against us. We're here to make sure we get five years of retribution out of your hide before we let you die."

She worked to keep her eyes focused as her mind tried to wrap around what was being said. She knew she should be afraid but she couldn't reach that fear that would give her energy to fight him. Part of her didn't care any more. She'd either die here or somewhere else but her ticket had been punched and she knew all her karma had been used up last time, keeping her alive and recovering. She smirked a little at him, "So…find any girlfriends in the pen?" she asked.

John got up and snarled, pulling out a revolver. "I should cap you right here, right now."

She smirked as she sat there, limp like a rag doll. "Go ahead but then there'll be no pleasure left for Max when he gets here. Here I thought for sure you'd become someone's bitch once inside." She said, trying to push him to kill her so it'd be over with. She saw John jerk and he swung the gun around to her and fired a shot into her left kneecap. She was caught off guard and screamed between clenched teeth. She was panting when the blackness started to fade, leaving her staring at that leering face. Her vision focused down to that small point in time, as she goaded him a little further between gritted teeth.

"Come on John. Shoot me you cowardly piss ant! You don't scare me. I've got nothing to loose." She glared up at him and yelled in her best military voice, "I'm not afraid of you, you putrid piece of meat. I'll see you burn in hell before I give you the pleasure of seeing me broken." She heard the gun go off, felt the heated slug enter her hand that was lying on top of her wounded leg and then felt it burrow into her upper thigh underneath.

She must have screamed again, but she couldn't remember.

She heard a laugh as someone stepped from around the other side of the car. Max appeared and took in the situation of the John standing over her, smoking gun still in hand. "Well well Crane. Looks like you're in a heap of trouble." He said with a sick chuckle.

He shouldered his sniper riffle and pulled out his 9mm. "You're friends are coming down and you're too messed up to try and drag out of here with me, leaving a trail that even my blind grandmother could follow." He smirked then, looking up the cliff a little. A shot fired from somewhere and he ducked, looking around frantically for cover. He heard a gurgling noise across from him and he looked back to see blood flowing easily out of Johns mouth from the wound to the lung. A second shot rang out and John collapsed into a heap near Crane.

Max ducked down near a tree and gave her a wicked smile before he saluted her a little, "Good luck with that there…." He said, indicating her leg. "I'll just wait till you're healed up again before taking another crack at ya…Cheerio"

She felt like it was taking all her energy just to take a breath, her sense of time and the reality of it, slowing down with each blink of her eyes.

Blink….. Max was squatted there behind a tree, the next he was gone.

Blink……Several of the rangers were coming down to her.

Blink……The rangers were there with her, Cody at her left.

The looks on their faces told her it wasn't pretty. She struggled to breath, "Don't let Max...get away...." She gasped out, no longer able to articulate what she needed to say.

Cody got her to relax a little, pulling a needle out of a small kit on his hip. He pulled off the cap and checked for air bubbles before pushing it into her leg without rolling up the pant leg before hitting the plunger. "Morphine Gunny. It'll dull the pain some till we can get you to the hospital." He said, pulling out bandages and compresses as Matt and Mark began assessing what shape she was in and if they could move her without causing more issues with her wounds. Cody put a heavy compress against her shoulder wound and then took her good hand and placed it over it. "Stay with me Gunny. Hold it tight."

She did her best to comprehend as the drugs took some of the pain off, dulling it. Her eyes tried to track Cody's movements. He worked first to bind the shoulder wound, then worked on her knee and broken leg, binding and bracing it. He wrapped her hand up heavily and then the wound in her leg that was under it. Finally the guys had gotten the backboard rigged up, trying to assess if it would be better to go downhill or try to get her back uphill, Cody got her to focus on him again.

He spoke softly to her, "Stay with me Gunny." He touched her cheek very gently, a feather light touch. She had been dosed with another round of morphine for the pain when the first one was already wearing off. She didn't flinch away from his touch as his thumb stroked her cheek. "Gotta stay with us. You'll live to fight another day. We're here…I'm here." He whispered. She leaned a little into his touch and smiled a little lopsided.

"Thass..good….to know….I'm….tired…of figh…ting…" She slurred as she felt strong hands take her up carefully and get her laid out flat on the board. She was quickly wrapped in blankets and strapped to the board. Her eyes grew heavier as she felt herself moved around on the board and somewhere in her memories she remembered hearing the blades of the chopper overhead and then the smell of the sterile hospital. The warm darkness took her, the memory of Cody's touch to her face was the only thing she clung to as she succumbed to the blackness.


	10. Chapter 9

The rangers moved through the motions of helping get the mess cleaned up with the help of the Sheriffs department. It was going to take some time since there was still a body stuck in the trees, the body of Gunny's attacker and a wrecked car at the bottom of the cliff. Cody had gone with Gunny in the med-evac chopper that had been flown in. Matt stayed to help get things coordinated on the ground while the rest did as they were told. None of them were able though to forget the scene they had come upon when they'd finally climbed down. Cody had taken the first shot at John and what had surprised them all was Izzy taking the final shot that did the man in. They all wanted to be at the hospital but they knew they had a job to do, so they did it, their movements almost wooden and stilted…but they did it.

By the time they had finished with the cleanup and made their way to the hospital, Gunny was in her seventh hour of surgery and Cody could only give them the basics of what he'd learned…which wasn't much. Matt sent everyone except Cody and himself back to the station to get cleaned up and get some rest. The two brothers remained, waiting…hoping for the best.

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The sound of someone groaning started to register through the fog and blackness behind her eyes. Her brain felt fuzzy and not quite functioning properly. There was that noise again. If someone was in pain, she should help, shouldn't she? But as soon as that thought came through the fog, it slipped away again.

Someone else's voice suddenly registered in her ear, a voice that was familiar but she couldn't associate where she'd heard it or to whom it belonged. What they were saying didn't even register as if it was nothing more than gibberish to her. The groan sounded again, loud enough that it reverberated through her chest. How could that be possible?

Her tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of her mouth and she realized she desperately needed something to drink otherwise she felt like she might choke. She slowly worked to remove her tongue from the roof of her mouth but something was in the way of her tongue moving too much. The sound of a groan came again.

Slowly, one thought at a time, she registered the sensation of someone holding her hand lightly. She was trying to sleep here and someone was making noise and who the hell was touching her? She thought that perhaps she should remove her hand but couldn't get her muscles to obey her just yet. She exhaled in a gust, her tongue still trying to figure out what was in her mouth. She swallowed, registering a moment later that something was in her throat. Her throat muscles moved against it again when she swallowed a second time.

The hand touching hers was rubbing the back of hers. The need to remove her hand from the offending touch suddenly triggered her muscles to jerk. She felt her hand suddenly shoot skyward, hitting something in the process that resulted in another loud noise that irritated her eardrums. Her hand, as if with a mind of its own, began touching her face. She had to get this stuff out of her mouth so she could swallow and get a drink so her tongue wouldn't keep sticking to the roof of her mouth.

She felt her hand gently removed from its explorations and heard someone speaking gibberish again. She felt her heart begin to beat harder, clearing some more of the fog from her brain. She was running on instinct as she yanked her hand out of someone else's grip, her other hand lifting finally to help. There was a long high-pitched noise that caused irritation to her ears. She let out a growl of frustration as someone grabbed her other hand. There was more than one person around her!

Why was she asleep? Why wasn't she waking up? Why were others in her room with her? Why were they holding her hands down? She worked hard to get herself free but her strength ebbed faster than it should have and she was gasping for breath as she worked hard to peel her eyes open. They felt as though someone had sealed them shut with glue but she managed to get an eyelid open.

She knew instantly she was in a hospital as a nurse quickly moved around her bed, strapping her wrists down. The long high-pitched noise stopped as something was clipped to a finger and a beeping fast pace of a heart monitor replaced it. The sound of that loud groaning came again and her brain finally registered that it was her that was causing the noise.

She got the second eyelid pried open as she lay there, confused as to why she was in a hospital. She couldn't sense her body. She knew it was there but it felt numb, disconnected. When the nurse realized her eyes were open, she disappeared out of her line of sight. Within moments, someone that was obviously a doctor came up to her and began flashing a penlight in her eyes. She winced and growled a threat since it seemed she couldn't talk with this object in her throat.

The doctor looked at her with a raised eyebrow but kept checking things on her. He spoke to her and a few of his words filtered through the fog that was slowly dissipating. "….County General….shot……accident….. lost….."

Crane closed her eyes again, trying to register what was being said. She still couldn't speak but when she opened her eyes again, the doctor looked as though he was waiting for her to confirm something. Her look must have conferred the fact that she was obviously confused. He spoke again and she heard more of what he said this time "Miss Atheron, you're at Barton Medical Center. You've been injured and shot while helping out with a traffic accident. We thought we'd lost you there for a while. Do you understand what I've told you?"

It took a moment for the words to fully register in her brain but she nodded once and let out another groan.

The doctor looked a little more relieved. He checked her eyes with the penlight again; getting another growled response from her. She heard him speak to someone else, "At lease she has spirit enough to express her opinion on things…" There were a few chuckles that came from around the room. There was obviously more people than just the doctor in the room.

Finally the doctor removed her restraints. He signaled a nurse, who came over and the two of them began removing the tube that was running down her throat. She wanted to gag and once it was clear of her throat, she coughed a few times before she felt her whole body wracked with pain from such a simple thing. The doctor came back over to her bed as the nurse checked the fluid bags and to make sure she hadn't shaken anything loose when she had struggled earlier.

She felt herself begin to slip backwards into the dark but the doctor motioned for someone to come over. Her foggy brain realized after a few moments that it was Cody…holding a towel to his bloody nose. He leaned down and in a muffled voice said, "It's good to see you haven't lost your fighting spirit. Next time I'll make sure to wear a face mask before I hold your hand." He said jokingly.

She felt her cheeks flush. She wanted to say something but she didn't feel she had the strength to do so. Another face swam into view. Matt leaned over her bed, smiling warmly, "You'll survive I think..."

She saw Cody sit back down next to her bed, but this time, he put his hand under hers. She felt her fingers flex a little, giving a little jerk of a squeeze as she slipped back into the darkness she'd pulled out of only moments before. She heard people talking quietly around her but her brain became foggy again, causing her to loose interest quickly as she let sleep claim her.


	11. Chapter 10

(Thanks to everyone who has been patient! This part of the story that follows has been in my files for awhile...just too damned lazy to get it set up for publishing. You might want to go back and review from the beginning. I've added some info on the disclaimer and changed a few things around in some of the previous chapters. More corrections of the timelines and so forth. Nothing too major. Enjoy! Keep the reviews and words of encouragment coming)

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The next time she woke, she wasn't as violent. She was alone in the room and the darkness of the night sky dulled the colors in the room. A clock on the wall claimed that it was four in the morning. She took a slow assessment of her situation. The first thing she wanted was a drink of water. She actually wanted quite a bit of water. Her mouth was still terribly dry and felt like it'd been rubbed with a scouring pad. She looked around for some way to call the nurse but found none right away.

She saw someone pass by the door and she called out, but it came out more of a hoarse whisper. She groaned a little as she felt her body suddenly register to her brain and she felt every injury she had received. She let out another groan of pain, her good hand gripping the railing on the bed. Finally, a nurse came in to investigate after hearing the groans and the heart monitor speed up.

She blinked at seeing the woman in the bed awake and then moved over to her quickly. "Miss Atheron, relax. The more you tense, the more your muscles tighten and the more it'll hurt. I'll get you a bit of pain killer."

Crane managed to touch her before she turned to leave, "Only a little, not a full dose. Need to avoid ...the painkillers. Don't want them. Need water…" she said, half in a croaked whisper, half in a groan.

The nurse blinked at her. She was an older nurse and she knew this kind. "All right. Let me get you a small dose of painkiller to get you over the hump here and I'll get you some water. Until then, try to relax." She was quickly out of the room and gone.

Crane took slow deep breaths, trying to remember all the techniques she'd learned when she was recovering almost six years ago. She worked to slowly get her body to relax and adjust to the pain. The nurse came in a few minutes later with a large mug of water with a lid and a flex straw out of the top. She gave it immediately to Crane and then pulled a syringe with a small dose of pain killers in it and injected it into the IV bag. Instead of giving her the full dose right into her blood stream, she let the saline solution dilute it and give it to her in small amounts.

Crane was already sucking down the water that was just slightly cold. Nothing in her life had felt so good in her mouth as the water did at the moment. She let out a little groan of relief. The nurse looked at her and chuckled. "Dry like a desert aren't you…they didn't even give you water when they took that tube out." While Crane slowed her drinking down, the nurse busied herself with finding and relocating the call button and the remote for the TV.

Finally Crane put the empty mug of water on the table. She watched the nurse as she recorded down some numbers off the monitors. Finally the nurse turned and looked at her. "You doing ok hon?"

Crane shrugged then winced due to disturbing her left shoulder. "What was the extent of my injuries?" she asked.

The nurse looked her over then gave a slight nod as if making a decision about something. "Normally you'd have to wait for the doctor to tell you but I'll let you know if you promise not to let on that I told you, ok?"

Crane nodded and the nurse smiled. "First I want to tell you that you are the luckiest person I've ever met. Now, the reason I say that is the shot you took to your left shoulder missed a major artery by millimeters. I heard them theorize he didn't want to kill you so he didn't go for a heart shot. The tumble down the hill that broke your leg left you pretty bruised up from top to bottom but nothing worse than the leg. But the bone was broke in three places and when that man shot you in the knee, he actually shot the bone that was already broken and missed the socket of the lower leg bone. They replaced the whole thing with a surgical steel bone from your hip to your knee. It was the easiest and the main thing that would get you on your feet sooner."

The nurse watched her carefully, noting she was slowly going over these things in her head. When Crane nodded, she continued, "You took a shot to the hand that passed through to lodge in your leg…the same leg that was already injured. The bullet was lodged in the muscle and they removed it when it they did surgery on your leg. It took them one surgery to take care of things that could have caused multiple surgeries if they had been in different areas or the bullet in the knee just an inch farther down. Your hand though is going to take some work. Worst case is that you'll loose partial movement of two of your fingers." She stated with a gentle smile.

Crane thought this all over then asked, "How long have I been here?" She had no sense of time right now.

The nurse looked down at her chart, "Says here you were admitted just over four weeks ago. You've been kept in an induced coma until two days ago when they took you off the meds. They were hoping you'd come up out of it sooner than you did. Had them a little worried."

Crane looked at her for a moment. "Any idea of how long I'll be in here before I'm let out?" she asked.

The nurse shook her head, "No. You'll have to ask the doctor that. Just be sure to ask how bad the injuries were and get it all repeated to you. I'd prefer to keep working here." She said.

Crane nodded and held out her good hand, "I promise. Please call me Crane or what the Rangers call me, Gunny."

The nurse took the offered hand carefully but gave it a gentle squeeze. "All right Gunny. Now, I can get you a pudding cup or put in an 'order' for breakfast. They won't start delivering yet till 6am."

Crane raised an eyebrow, "How about both? Maybe help me sit up and get me something to read? I'm not much into TV unless it's to get the weather." She said with a grin.

The nurse chuckled and patted her hand, "Not a problem." The nurse turned and headed out of the room. She came back a few minutes later with a pudding cup and a refill on the water mug. Within a few minutes, she had Cranes bed raised just enough to make her comfortable but not put any strain on her injuries. She handed Crane that days newspaper that must have been delivered already with a wink and then left Crane to her own wiles as she did her rounds.


	12. Chapter 11

Breakfast came and went. The doctor came in and talked to her for a while before leaving. The nurses were in and out all morning but she didn't see a sign of any of the Rangers. She didn't call because if they were on a case, she didn't want to bother them. They'd taken her from her room so she could get a bath while they changed sheets and cleaned the room. She finally got a chance to brush her teeth. She swore they had fur growing on them.

She was returned in time for supper. By then, her appetite was not really there as she realized how exhausted she was. She hadn't asked for any further pain medication though she knew the nurses had instructions to give her small doses diluted in her saline solution. It took the edge off but didn't do away with it completely. She picked at her food before the nurse came in and removed her tray after refilling her water mug. One of the nurses had found an assortment of magazines and even a book of puzzles to do while sitting alone.

She had dozed off around six. She slept fitfully, dreaming of strange things that made no sense. The Rangers kept turning their back on her no matter what she did. If she asked for help, they seemed to fade away, moving through the mists as if she didn't exist. The dreams began to turn to nightmares of her past, trapping her in a maze that she couldn't escape. The sound of a gun going off in her dreams jerked her awake, causing her to sit up suddenly, yelling angrily at the one holding the gun in her dreams.

The pain of her stressed injuries is what brought her out of the nightmare fully as her body throbbed in pain, trembling with the unknown and chills from her sweat soaked gown. The nurse from the night before came running in, looking around frantically before moving over to Crane. "Gunny, you need to lie back down. Here, I'll help you."

Crane was still shaken by the dreams and nightmares. She felt the woman's hands on her back, easing her back down in the bed. "Gunny, do you need me to get you something to help you sleep?" she asked.

Crane shook her head, "No…no more pain killers. Cause…me to dream …nightmares." She stammered out. "Tea…chamomile…" she managed to murmur out as she tried to relax again.

The nurse simply nodded, "All right. I'll see what I can find for tea and I'll be back hon. Just be careful with yourself."

Before the nurse could walk out, she called to her, "Did the Rangers come by today?" she asked.

The nurse paused and then turned, pursing her lips. "I'm sorry hon. They didn't. They've had the entire crew out with the sheriffs department on a massive manhunt for an escaped convict that was being transported. I pray they all come back safely."

Crane nodded and relaxed a little more as the nurse left the room in search of the requested flavor of tea. She had learned long ago that painkillers left her with horrible nightmares. The only thing that could get her asleep without the dreams was chamomile tea. She shifted a little and relaxed some in bed, shivering as her damp hospital gown became chilled. She pulled the blankets up closer around her and closed her eyes for a few minutes, trying to get herself back under control.

She woke with a start to the sound of a gun being cocked near her ear. Her eyes flicked in the direction of the gun and for a moment, she was afraid she was having another nightmare. The nurse was standing over her bed, holding the cup of tea, a terrified look upon her pale face. Behind her stood Max with the smile that left her colder than ice. "Hello sweetie. Miss me? I didn't miss you I see." He said, taking the barrel of his gun and poking it into her healing shoulder wound.


	13. Chapter 12

(Violence warning in this chapter. Again, nothing too grusome, but this is just a warning)

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Cody was frustrated beyond words. He, Matt and the other rangers had been working in tandem with the Sheriffs department since just after seven a.m. A prisoner transport bus had blown a tire and slid off the road. It was carrying six prisoners and two were dead along with the driver and the two guards. Three had sustained severe injuries but the one that they had really worried about, the serial killer, was unaccounted for, manacles and all. The rain had wiped out any chance to following any type of trail and even the two Hawkes brothers were at a loss, unable to do much past the bus.

So a massive manhunt had begun in the rain that came and went. By mid-day it had become just a drizzle but it was the type that soaked into everything and it was cold. There was snow in the higher elevations. Dogs were brought in, choppers and all personnel that could be spared. Cody had stayed at the station last night due to it being his turn to man the radio and phones. They hadn't even had a chance to call the hospital before they took off to see how Gunny was doing.

As the day wore on into the early evening hours, he touch base with Matt and finally admitted to him that he had one of those feelings that was telling him something wasn't right with this search…as if they were looking for something that no longer existed or that they were wasting their time. Matt nodded in agreement but still knew they had a job and a duty to try and find this killer. But they both had a bad feeling about it and it only seemed to grow worse as the day wore on into evening.

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Crane watched as Max got the nurse into a chair, taped her arms and legs to the chair, then taped her mouth shut. He went over to the door and locked it, taping a towel over the glass. The whole time, Crane was assessing how much pain she was in and if she could actually get out of bed to go after this guy. While he had his back turned with the towel, she reached carefully over to the clipboard that was on the table with her water and slipped the pen out of the holder. She tucked it in next to her under the sheets and remained still.

When Max came back over to her, he was gloating with a wicked smile on his face. He pulled up a chair and sat next to her bed. "My my…don't you look terrible!" he stated with a sneer. "Looks like you got raked over the coals pretty badly…or was it granite cliffs…can't remember."

Crane simply remained quiet, feigning exhaustion. She kept trying to close her eyes, only to jerk them awake again. Max could only smile in her direction as he saw her struggling to stay awake. "Oh, did I wake you? Well I'm sure it'll be worth it so stay with me for awhile. I couldn't believe how easy it was to walk right in here. Of course, everyone is looking for the escaped convict…some serial killer. Of course, they won't find him cause I took care of that. Didn't need them finding him too soon. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time alone with you sweetie."

Cranes eyes flicked over to the nurse whose eyes grew a little wider, realizing he was right. Everyone was up on the mountain, looking for a convict that apparently was now dead but no one knew…they were still looking for a live man. She looked back at Max, saying nothing. It would be up to her to get them out of this. She wasn't as helpless as she was pretending to be. She closed her eyes and looked like she drifted back off to sleep but the gun shoved into her shoulder wound again caused her eyes to fly open.

"Naughty naughty. No sleeping on the job. You fall asleep again and I might have to cut a finger off this fine nurse here. Every time you fall asleep, she'll loose another one." He said. "This is your one free pass." He said with a smirk. "And I know how hard it is to stay awake when you're doped up on painkillers. With as much pain as I'm sure you're in, you must be on some heavy stuff."

Max was acting confident as if he was sure he had complete control over a woman who was injured, doped up and so exhausted that she kept trying to fall asleep even in the face of the danger she was in. She could only hope that if he didn't feel threatened by her, he might not consider strapping her hands down. Max didn't always prove to be the smart one. The one that died in prison was the true brains of the operation. Max was more of the muscle that occasionally had a decent idea spark between his two remaining brain cells.

She looked at him with a bit of a blank stare. When she spoke, her words were slurred a little, "Whatttt…you want …Max?" she said, as if working to get a bit more breath.

Max looked at her for a moment, "To end this. With you dead, I can be free. This ghost of yours that follows me around, I want it gone. It stares at me with hollow eyes and they don't see anything. If I kill you, the ghost will go away and I can begin to live again."

She tried to puzzle out in her head what the hell he was talking about but being unable to do that, she kept up the charade. "How're you gunna kill me ….if it's a ghost…wont' it add another one…to it?" she asked, her eyes 'growing heavy' as she struggled to stay awake.

Max took her wounded hand and pulled it to him. She didn't resist as she gave a bodily shudder he could feel. He pulled out a scalpel knife. "That's why you won't go violently. With as much pain meds they got you on, this won't hurt too much. You'll slip slowly away as you fall asleep." He turned her hand over to expose her wrist.

Her insides tensed but she remained playing this game and smirked, "But…you just said that…if I fall asleep, you'll cut off one of the nursesssss fingers." She slurred. "If you make me go to sleep…that's not fair to her." She tried to reason.

Max could only smile at her as he looked over at the nurse. "Well I'll make sure that when you go to sleep for the last time, she'll be treated well. I won't cut any of those pretty fingers off." He said with a slight maniacal chuckle. It was the type of laugh one heard during horror movies from the insane killer chasing after some ditzy chick on screen.

While he was turned away from her, her hand slipped to grip the pen in her fist. She moved it farther to the edge of the blanket. Max looked back at her. "So, any last words you want me to pass along that I can write in your blood or perhaps something for your gravestone?"

Crane 'jerked' awake again, "No…Just wanna sleep." she said, almost sounding like she was begging to be released.

Max's eyes seemed on be set on fire as he turned his focus to her wrist, "This'll only hurt for a second sweetie then you can sleep." He said as he put the knife to her wrist.

She could hear the nurse scream behind the tape as things seemed to slow to the second. As he began to cut, she pulled her hand out from under the covers and stabbed it down on his hand with the knife. She felt it sink into his hand as he screamed aloud. She growled as she flung her arms around him and rolled her body out of bed, tackling him to the floor. IV's and monitors pulled off of her, causing the monitors to topple over.

Max struggled with her but when she got a hold on the penknife with her good hand, she moved her arm sideways trying to slice his face. He got his other hand up in time but she gouged his fingers heavily. He backhanded her, causing her to topple backwards. She groaned in pain as her leg wounds opened up, the stitches tearing.

She was in a fight for her life and the life of the nurse … she couldn't loose. She was in a rage, her subconscious taking over her conscious state, her military training and years of working on the ranch, all the self-defense she'd learned early in life. She did her best to stay on top of him. She beat at him with both fists, ignoring the pain it caused to her left one. She slammed his head again and again into the floor as he tried to get free of her.

He was in a panic, never having encountered or fought someone like her before. He had fought many men before but nothing like this. He realized belatedly that she really had nothing to loose and that her body had survived much worse than what they had just done to her a month ago. She was trained to be a fighter. He was just a smuggler and part time mercenary. He saw stars several times as she slammed his head into the floor.

She found the penknife again and began to stab at him. She continued to yell things at him as she forced him to back peddle further. He almost knocked her off several times but she'd struggle back to the top and beat at him a little more. Finally, she made a swipe at him with the penknife that finished him off. He went to scream from the pain but found the air escaping from the slice in his throat. The floor was quickly becoming sticky with his blood from the major artery she'd also opened up in that strike. He clinically knew he'd be dead in only minutes. She straddled his chest, knees on his arms, keeping him pinned as she watched him bleed out.

Part of her mind screamed that she was doing something wrong, but the animalistic side of her knew she had done what needed to be done. He needed killin' and she had managed to bring it to an end. Her adrenaline was pumping hard through her veins, making it so that her body ignored the pain that it was in. She continued to watch as his struggles grew less and less. Part of her mind picked up the fact that there was a muffled scream in the background and everything sped back up again.


	14. Chapter 13

Sheriff Mike MacAllister was the first on the scene. He had just brought in one of his deputies who had gotten hurt during the search. They had called it off for the night and were planning on resuming again tomorrow morning. As he entered the hospital with his deputy, several orderlies and security were rushing about as someone tried to get answers. He put his deputy in a chair in the waiting room, grabbed the first security officer and got some semblance of information as to what was going on. Something was happening on the third floor but no one knew exactly what. Running up the stairs he quickly got the orderlies and security in order within the stairwell and had them take up defensive manures while the elevators were ordered to be locked down.

Mike pulled out his gun and carefully pushed the door open a little and peeked in to look down the hallway. Seeing nothing, he pushed the door open further and then slipped out into the hallway, flanked by two more security guards. The floor was strangely silent as if anyone had gone utterly silent to avoid notice of whatever had been happening. He slowly made his way down the hall, motioning the guards to check other doors as they passed. His gut told him he knew where things had happened and he moved slowly towards Cranes door.

His instincts were screaming that he was right when he saw what looked like a towel over the window to the room. When he gently pushed at the door to see if it would open, he wasn't surprised to find it locked. He took a deep breath and stood to the side of the door, knocking. "Sheriff, open up!"

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Gunny was still in the fight or flight mode, her adrenaline keeping her from noticing the pain that was racing up her thigh and hip up to her left shoulder. She had torn stitches out and the spreading blood stain on her pant leg made it obvious that she needed medical attention immediately.

She climbed off of Max's body, trembling. The muffled screams of the nurse taped to the chair. Gunny did her best to make it over to her, carrying the penknife. The nurses' eyes were wide with fright but Gunny tried to control her shaking hands as she used it to carefully cut away the tape on her hands.

The nurse quickly pulled her arms free and pulled the duct tape off her mouth with a small cry of pain but as she turned to focus on Gunny, she could do little for the woman as she saw her start to sink to the floor. "Gunny…Ms Atheron…"

Gunny looked up at her, still in a sitting position but her legs were just unable to support her any longer. She reached forward and cut the tape free from around her ankles and the effort finally left her panting. The nurse struggled to get out of the chair as a voice in the hall shouted 'Sheriff, open up!'

The color was draining from Gunny's face as she forced herself to the wall to use it to keep her sitting up. She dropped the penknife from her hand, the sound of the metal ringing loudly in the now quiet room as it bounced on the tile floor. The nurse moved to go to the door and Gunny's hand reached out and grabbed her. "Don't leave me…." she said, pain filling her voice, "Don'...want to die…alone…please…" she said pleadingly.

The nurse was torn but knew that someone would have a master key so she avoided looking at Max's body and knelt down next to Gunny, taking her good hand, even covered in blood as it was, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'll stay with you, but you won't die…" she said, her voice shaking.

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He strained to hear if anything came from the room and he heard voices and the banging of a chair on the floor. He thought he heard something metallic hit the floor but he couldn't be sure. He looked away and motioned for an orderly to come up next to him.

"Do you have a key for this room or a master key?" he asked.

The orderly nodded and pulled the keys off his belt, his hands shaking a little as he flipped through them till he found the master key. He handed it to Mike and then stepped away.

Mike pounded on the door again, "Open up! Last chance!" He called out loudly. When he got no response, he slipped the key in the lock and turned it. Looking at the other guards, he gave a nod and quickly shoved the door open. He quickly looked in, then ducked his head back. His brain slowly registered what he saw and the second time he pushed the door open, it was at a crouch, aiming his revolver to different areas of the room.

What saw him could chill many men to the bone. Lying on the floor, lifeless eyes looking up at the ceiling was the man known as Max, one of Cranes attackers. Blood had sprayed all over the wall and he was now lying in the pool of it as it crept across the floor, spreading farther as he bled out. The lights had been turned out so the room was dark except for the light that came in from the doorway. He then saw the nurse, kneeling down next to Gunny along side the back wall under the window, half hidden by the bed.

He slowly made his way further into the room until he could reach them. Mike took a quick look at the two then the chair with the duct tape still hanging from it. The nurse looked up at him, "We need a medical team in here Sheriff, but she won't let go of my hand." She whispered afraid of breaking the silence.

Mike looked to the doorway and called out shattering that silence, causing Gunny to startle and gasp in pain. "I need a medic in here now. We've got injured." Without really knowing what prompted him to do so, he grabbed the blanket off the bed after holstering his gun and went over to her, covering the body and blood to block the view of the dead man from anyone else coming into the room and hopefully preserving the crime scene.

He knelt down and touched Gunny's right shoulder, seeing her eyes had shut. "Gunny, its Sheriff McBride. Talk to me hon." He said gently as he hoped for a response.

Her eyes snapped open, startling him a little. "I killed him...I…I couldn't stop." She panted in pain, her body starting to tremble with shock.

The nurse motioned to him to get another blanket and he pulled one down, the two of them trying to wrap her up to keep her warm. Mike spoke up then, "Gunny…it was in self defense. We'll get all the details later but he attacked you and the nurse and you killed him in self-defense. There is nothing wrong with that. He would have killed both of you and who knows how many others before he was done. Doctors on his way to get you patched up and get you on the mend. It's over, I promise."

She let go of the nurses' hand finally and held to Mike's arm, "Cody…." She tried to say but her voice failed as she tried to say any of the other ranger's names. She needed to know someone would be here for her.

He took hold of her right hand as several medical staff came running down the hall. "As soon as we get you taken care of I'll call the Rangers. You just hang on and they'll get you patched up and right as rain hon." He looked as the team came in with a gurney and a backboard. Within moments, they had her on the board and were lifting her to the gurney. Once Mike saw that she was being taken care of and there was little else for him to do, he looked around the room again.

He rubbed his forehead. He had a big mess to clean up and investigate and this wasn't going to be easy but he had to work quickly. He helped the nurse up and led her out of the room and over to the nurses station. She was shaking by now, but she seemed strong enough to handle what he had to do next. He saw on her tag that her name was Jannet and he approached her, pulling a chair up to her. He took her hand and worked to get it warm. "Orderly, can we get a warmed blanket or two?" Within moments, the blanket appeared and he helped to wrap her up in its warmth.

He pulled out a small tape recorder from a pocket on his gun belt and set it on the counter next to her, turning it on. "Jannet, tell me what happened up to the point that that the man in there was killed. Just start slowly from what you can remember. I need to know before your memory fades too much on some things." He saw Jannet look at him and then take a shuddering breath.

Within a few minutes, he knew that both Crane and Jannet were very lucky. She went back several times and added details, then confirmed again that Max had gloated about setting the convict free to distract everyone but had done away with him to keep everyone looking without showing up too early for him to get in and finish off Crane.

Mike went back over a few things, asking for verification and finer details. When he thought he'd asked all that he could right now, he reached up and squeezed her hand. "It's going to be all right." He stated. "You are very brave and no one should have had to witness or deal with what you did."

Jannet shivered and nodded a little, then looked Mike in the eyes. "She…she saved my life. I'm a nurse and shouldn't think that he needed to be done away with but…he did and she risked her life to save us both. Please don't arrest her, she doesn't deserve that after what she's been through." She pleaded.

Mike smiled warmly and patted her hand. "I'll promise that I'll do all I can for her. She acted in both of your self-defense and did what she had to. No judge or jury could every find her guilty of murder after what that man had done to her."

Jannet smiled shakily with a slight nod. Mike got up and turned the tape recorder off as he went and placed a call to the coroner, his deputies and then the Rangers. He'd called them last because he knew they'd have been up there as soon as he'd called. He wanted the quiet as long as possible to get details sorted out before things got out of hand. The doctor had already gotten Crane prepped for surgery and they were running scans and x-rays to see if her injuries were worse or if they were just superficial and needing to be re-stitched. They wouldn't know anything for at least a few hours. She'd live but Mike honestly wondered about her mental state. She was a strong woman but everyone, even a man, had their breaking point.


	15. Chapter 14

The Rangers were exhausted. It was already past ten at night and they'd been up since dawn and out in the rain looking for the escaped convict. They'd followed several false trails but nothing ever came of them. They had dogs out, choppers and men on foot. Nothing. Sheriff Mike had called off the search due to how late it was and that they could pass this person in the night without ever seeing them, not to mention that everyone was soaked and cold. One of his deputies had twisted his ankle pretty good and he was off to the hospital to have him looked at. The last thing the Rangers had asked him was for him to check in on Gunny since they couldn't them selves tonight.

Hot showers, pain killers in the form of Vitamin 'I' as they liked to call it and the warmth of the fires with hot soup in front of them, the last thing they expected was to get a phone call from Mike. It was about eleven thirty and several of the rangers had already headed to bed. Cody had answered the phone when it rang. "High Mountain Rangers, Cody speaking."

"Cody, it's Mike. Is Matt there?" he asked, sounding a bit 'off'.

Cody's brow furrowed a little, "Yeah. I think he just headed to bed. Can I take a message or do you need him specifically?"

Mike was quiet for a moment. "I need to talk to Matt directly." He said carefully.

Cody knew something was up and his fears were that something had gone wrong with Crane while they'd been away. But she had been reported on the mend when they'd called the doctor later that morning to find out she'd been awake and eating, reading the paper and looking generally bored. "All right, hold on a minute and let me get him." He put the phone call on hold and got up, jogging to the back of the station to the CO's quarters.

He knocked softly and within moments, Matt opened the door. "Yeah?" he said, half awake.

Cody's face must have told him something was up because Matt came fully awake when Cody spoke. "Sheriff Mike's on the phone. He's asked to speak directly to you."

Matt blinked and nodded, shutting the door as he grabbed a bathrobe to throw over his sweatpants. He came out the door and shut it carefully behind him. He headed downstairs and took the call off hold and answered, "This is Matt."

Matt listened for a minute and sat down carefully. The rest of the team that was still up looked on, worried at some of the things Matt was responding with.

"How bad?" Matt was silent for a moment, "I see." He said. "The search called off then?" came a reply to something said. "All right. Keep us updated." He said as he hung up the phone. He sat there for a long moment, not sure what to say to the others.

Finally Izzy spoke up, "Well? What did Mike want?" he asked

Matt looked at the three still awake. "Seems we were busy today for no reason other than to keep everyone distracted. The serial killer was killed and disposed of so we'd still be looking for him. Apparently Max has been around for these past four weeks under our noses and we didn't have a clue. He got into the hospital tonight and went after Gunny."

Mark and Cody were both suddenly standing, "What?!" Izzy said from where he was sitting, leaning forward in his chair.

Matt rubbed his eyes, "He was there to kill her. In turn, she ended up somehow killing him, saving herself and the nurse but she's reopened all of her wounds and Mike says she was in a state of shock. The doctors got her headed back to surgery once they assessed the damages done with the attack. I didn't get all the details but I guess it's not pretty with what's left in the hospital room."

Both Cody and Mark sat slowly back down, shocked, looking at each other for assurances they'd heard Matt right. Matt continued, "They are calling off the search. Apparently whatever is done now is to search for the body of the escaped convict. Mike said for us to stay here since he's already there and try to get some rest. He'll keep watch over her till we get there in the morning. He said he's got a crime scene to coordinate investigation though he knows it won't take too long. It's the clean up that's going to take some time." Matt looked a little pale. He wasn't sure he wanted to know more than that.

Everyone seemed in a state of stunned silence and finally, Matt got up and went back to his and to Robin to let her know what was happening. Mark and Izzy both headed to their bunkroom and Cody stretched out on a cot near the fireplace. Cody had to be there to answer phones if they rang during the night. He wasn't sure at this point in time if he'd even be able to get to sleep with thoughts of Gunny being stuck in the hospital alone except for Mike to watch out for her.

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The sunlight through the window in her room was coming in at an angle through the blinds, slanting across the white tiled floor. She had started to open an eyelid but quickly shut it again due to the light. She knew she wasn't alone but she wasn't sure if she'd alerted them that she was awake. She opened her eyes slowly to look in the direction of the person sitting in the chair.

Her mind was still a little fuzzy but she was laying on her right side, her leg and arm propped up on pillows. She watched Cody sitting in the sunlight, staring out the window. She wanted to remember him just as he was, sitting there as the gray hues of cloud-covered sun threw shadows and shades of darkness across him where the light didn't reach. He was dressed in blue jeans, a dark wine colored sweater and hiking boots. He was lost in thought, not aware that she was watching him. She watched him for another moment through half opened eyes.

Finally she took a chance and spoke up. "Hi…." Her throat was sore and dry and she got the notion she'd been in surgery again.

Cody's head quickly turned in her direction and he got up and brought his chair over by her bed. There was a look of utter relief on his face at seeing her awake. "Hi." He said in response. He hadn't offered to take her hand but she moved her right hand out a little as an invitation and he gently took her hand in his.

She lay there, simply savoring the feeling of the gentle touch, a touch that had nothing to be gained by it other to convey a sense of concern and caring. "How long?" she asked.

Cody smiled a little, "Just shy of two days. Had a little bit of a fever until last night." His fingers simply rested under hers, letting her set the pace of what she wanted. "You ok?" he asked gently.

She knew what he asking about and to be honest with herself, she really didn't know. Her mind was a bit fuzzy on the whole thing for some reason. "I'm not really sure. It seems to have happened so fast. To me, it seems like I was just shot a few days ago and then he suddenly showed up and then this. It's been over a month for everyone else though…"

Cody nodded, "But that's not what I really meant by asking if you were ok…" he said quietly.

Gunny looked at him, then looked away. "I … I don't know. I feel numb, like it never happened or it was like watching a movie…"

He nodded and she simply remained quiet, still trying to figure it all out for herself, but feeling the slow throbbing now of the pain coming back to the front and relished it … it meant she was alive.

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Cody sat in the chair next to Gunny's hospital bed, waiting for her to finally wake up. She'd been asleep since the surgery two days ago. She slept blissfully through the questioning and interrogating everyone seemed to be going through once the government found out about the attack.

He grumbled to himself as he thought about how the military representative, Max's lawyer and the federal agents had all been acting. It was if they were trying to cover up a major screw-up while the lawyer was threatening to sue Gunny for wrongful death. No one listened to him and after Sheriff Mac had a 'word' with him, he quickly turned tail and headed out of town. But the others were still lingering in hopes that she'd wake so they could question her about the attacks.

The worst of everything was that no matter how hard Mac had tried to keep a lid on the attack that happened just over four weeks ago and the one two nights ago, the media had gotten a hold of the story and it was now all over the news from coast to coast and probably around the world. The ranger station was swamped with phone calls, nosy reporters questioning them at every turn as to how they knew her, what was she like, what had happened, who was this man that had hurt her and on and on and on. They had set up a station outside of the hospital since they weren't allowed in. Everyone wanted a shot of this Marine Gunnery Sergeant that had survived three attacks on her person and that she had taken out the last attacker while still wounded with a penknife. It was the sensation all over the news and it had gotten so blown out of whack that the military representative and Sheriff Mac had to step in and lay out the story as simply as possible from what happened in Iraq six years ago to the imprisonment of the three men and their release five years later, to the attack four weeks ago and then two days ago.

Cody and Matt were taking shifts to stay with her until she awoke to keep people out of her room and give her someone familiar to wake up to. Cody had already talked to Matt about his decision that he was going to take Gunny up to the cabin once she was let out of here, to recover in some semblance of peace and quiet. Matt heartily agreed and since they had two temporaries helping answer phones, dispatch calls and help take care of Jessica, Jeremiah and Jimmy, it freed Robin up to help on calls. Mark was the backup pilot so he was on flight duty when the need called for it.

He sat quietly, watching another gentle snow falling from the sky and hoped that if the weather turned a little more, the reporters and media would be willing to leave for fear of being snowed in and not prepared for the incoming cold weather and large quantities of snow. The sun was setting already and the winds were beginning to pick up a little.

Cody was lost in thought when a very soft sound came from the direction of where Gunny's bed was situated. He wasn't quite sure what he heard but it sounded like 'Hi'. He turned his head quickly to see that one eyelid was pried halfway open, watching him with a drowsy blue eye. His heart sped up a little as he got up and quickly moved his chair to be closer. He wasn't sure if he should touch her or not for fear that she might react after what had happened but when her right hand slid out from under the blanket and her fingers reached a little towards him, he reached carefully up and took the four in his hand and gave them a gentle squeeze.

He had to fight the instinct to want to kiss them since he wasn't sure how she would take it. "Hi." He responded instead.


	16. Chapter 15

After two weeks recovering in the hospital, the Rangers could all tell that Gunny was about to come unglued if she had to deal with one more official, one more FBI agent, one more news reporter that wanted a story or one more curiosity seeker to come stare at the woman who survived three violent attacks by the same group of men. Even Izzy commented at supper the night before that he thought Gunny needed to get out of the hospital as soon as possible because she might come unglued at the wrong person.

Matt talked with the doctors overseeing her condition and upon the agreement that she get nothing but bed rest and relaxation for at least another week while her wounds healed further, they'd release her to leave. She was due back at the end of that week for a checkup and the start of physical therapy.

When Matt told Gunny this, she looked unsure about this. "It's not like I've got a place to go to other than the station. It just means that the media freaks will follow me there. You guys have better things to do other than worry about me and the crazy-ass reporters."

Cody sat on the edge of her bed and smirked, "That's why we're going to take you somewhere they can't get to you. Dad's cabin is up in the north quadrant. Only an hour or so by snow mobile from the station."

Crane raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was really serious about this. She looked at Matt who nodded. "We've stocked it with wood and supplies. As long as you take it easy, get lots of rest and minimize your movements for another week, the doctors are going to release you into our tender care." He said with a grin.

Crane simply rolled her eyes, "Greeeat." She said.

Cody chuckled a little, "Besides, it'll be a good place to recover without everyone around to bother you. Someone will come up every few days to make sure you're still alive and bring supplies or get you if you need to get to doctor appointments. There's a radio up at the cabin so if anything happens, you can get in touch with us."

She was silent for a time and then nodded a little, "When do we head out and do you have a plan for getting me out of here without half the media circus following or knowing that I've been released?"

Matt chuckled, "But of course we do. Mac's got one of his guys flying a chopper in some time tomorrow morning. He'll land on the heilo pad on the roof as if dropping someone off and they'll load you up and fly you up to the cabin."

Crane raised an eyebrow again, "Sounds like you're Johnny on the Spot on all of this." She then grew quiet, not sure what else to say about all of this planning going on around her. She looked between the two and finally nodded. "All right…and thanks." She said.

Matt nodded in return and gave a light salute before heading out the door to make plans with Mac and the doctors. Matt would be happy when this was all over and the newness of this whole fiasco had worn off. It would at least be easier to get the kids down for naps if the phone wasn't ringing off the hook. Everyone was getting short tempered a little by the constant interruptions.

----------------

The next morning showed signs that there was something moving in by way of weather and the radar was confirming there was a storm system building to the northwest and gathering force though it wasn't moving very fast which didn't bode well those in Tahoe. The weatherman kept up the warnings of the incoming storm and predicting it would be the first big one of the season. Everyone was busy getting supplies set in and more of the media crowd waiting to talk to Gunny got wise and packed up, getting out while they could.

The Rangers were busy making sure their supplies were fully re-stocked and the equipment was fueled, checked over and prepped for any upcoming emergencies. Most of the rangers were out making last checks on common camping places, finding those that were registered with the park service and getting them back down off the mountain. Mark and Cody had gone up to Jesse's cabin earlier that morning, setting in a large stack of firewood inside incase something happened and they couldn't get to Gunny for a few days. They took extra supplies of canned soup and other things to make meals out of that wouldn't require her to stay on her feet for long. The downstairs bedroom was set up with extra blankets and anything that could get underfoot was pushed aside to give her room to move freely.

It wasn't until noon before the sound of the Sheriffs chopper approaching overhead. Within a few minutes, it was settled in a flat area behind the barn where Cody and Mark were waiting. The blades were slowing down and the engine was winding down. The deputy that was piloting for them from time to time till Gunny was able to resume flight duties came around the edge of the chopper and opened the chopper door, holding it open for Gunny to shift and slip out of the seat and to the ground.

The deputy handed her a crutch that she shoved under her right arm. It was a little awkward for her but she refused to be in a wheelchair when she still had one good leg. The doctors could only shake their heads and grumble about stubborn 'jarheads' and rangers. She looked around and cracked a little bit of a smile at the two Rangers waiting for her. Mark came forward and got the box of stuff from the hospital as Cody grabbed her duffle bag of clothes and laptop case.

Gunny turned to the deputy and held out a hand, "Thanks for the ride. Be safe and don't take any chances with this incoming storm. Strap her down and wait it out."

The deputy took the hand and shook it. "You bet." He said easily enough and then nodded to the other two as he moved around to his side and got in.

Gunny moved slowly towards the cabin, following Cody and Mark. Within moments of them clearing the landing field, the chopper started up again and was air born soon afterwards. Gunny made it to the cabin with relative ease and followed the others inside. She shut the door behind her to conserve the warmth already built up from the fire that'd been started earlier.

The cabin was rustic but had stairs going up to a bedroom and a door leading to another bedroom underneath. The large stone fireplace dominated part of the wall by the stairs and bedroom doors, using it to heat the bedrooms as well. There was a kitchen in the other direction that had an old wood stove for cooking, a sink, table and chairs and a fridge. She wondered what powered the fridge but she didn't ask right now.

Cody came out of the downstairs bedroom where he'd put her duffle bag. He brought out her laptop and set it on the table near sofa and chairs that were in the main room in front of the fireplace. "There's an electrical hookup over there. Place runs off a solar panel and we have a backup set of batteries that store a reserve of power if the panel gets covered by snow or we don't get sun for a few days due to weather."

She nodded as Mark came back out of the kitchen. "I set out your meds on the counter next to the sink and the instructions the nurse wrote out as to when to take what. There's a radio over there that's tuned into our frequency at the station. You'll be able to keep up with what's going on and if you need anything, just give us a holler."

She looked between the two. "Thanks." She said, her cheeks flushing a little. She came to her senses a little, "You guys should get going if you're going to beat this storm back to the station."

Mark nodded, "We need to make sure our assigned 'chores' are done before we turn in for the night. You gonna be ok up here?" he asked, not quite sure himself.

Gunny gave him a look and then rolled her eyes, "I'm sure. This will be heaven compared to what I've been through the past few weeks." She looked between two worried faces, "I'll be fine. I won't hesitate to radio you if I need something."

Mark nodded with a smile and slight salute as he headed out to get the horses saddled. Cody hesitated a moment, looking around then back at her. "This place holds a lot of good memories for me." He stated evenly as he smiled a little sadly, "And a few sad ones as well."

Gunny was quiet as he spoke, watching him carefully. Her heart was hammering in her chest and her palms sweating a little from nerves as she took a hobbled step towards him. "Come here." She said quietly.

Cody moved towards her, coming close enough to smell the fresh scent of soap on her skin. She gently reached up with her right hand and touched the side of his face, then leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. He responded in kind, his lips answering her kiss. She parted from him after a moment, her heart hammering inside her chest, "Then let that be a good memory to dull the sad ones a little."

Cody saw how flushed her cheeks were and her eyes dilated as if in fear or excitement. She looked at the door, "You better go. Mark will start wondering what's keeping you."

Cody still seemed a little stunned by her forwardness and the suddenness of it all. He had fallen for her the moment she'd introduced herself that night at the restaurant. But he was never really sure how you approached someone of her caliber. It tore him up inside to see her hurt and be helpless to do much more than to sit and guard her bedside. He felt guilty that he wasn't there when Max had tracked her down at the hospital. He knew he had a job to do then but he still felt at fault. To have her suddenly kiss him like that made him want to pick her up and carry her off to the bedroom but he kept himself in check. She had issues with people touching her and she was still wounded with a long road of recovery ahead of her.

He shook himself mentally and nodded, "Yeah." He said, his throat feeling dry. "Get some rest and don't get too wild up here." He said with a slight smirk. As he moved past her, he leaned in and gently kissed her lips again, but it was more of a confirmation that he hadn't imagined it all. When she returned the kiss, he smiled almost shyly and quickly headed outside, shutting the door behind him.

Gunny watched him as he left, then followed him with her eyes as he headed to the barn. When he'd responded to her kiss, it caused her good knee to turn into something closely resembling jell-o and she was thankful for the crutch under her arm to hold her up. Her heart was still beating hard within her chest, causing her face to feel hot. When he'd kissed her as he left, she knew she hadn't been imagining the feelings she felt for him or what she had perceived from him. Her whole body tingled and she could only stand there and stare out the window, letting her mind wander around in little circles until she heard the horses trot by the cabin and saw the guys wave at her.

She raised a hand to wave and then slowly went around the room, just glad to be on her feet, looking at everything on the surface. She hobbled to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and tucked it into her sling with her left arm that was still secured to keep it from moving too much till her muscles repaired themselves. Making her way back to the living room, she stretched out on the couch with a few blankets and a pillow. She was tired enough that she knew she needed a nap since there was nothing up here to disturb her for once and no one to bother her.


	17. Chapter 16

By the time she'd woken from her nap, it was dark outside and the wind was howling through the pines around the cabin. The fire had died down but due to the nature and construction of the fireplace, it would radiate heat all night long if she didn't rebuild the fire. She took her time going through some stretching exercises she'd learned years ago to work on her mobility. She kept her right side flexible and very slowly put her left side through the motions within reason. When she felt less stiff, she hobbled with the help of the crutch over to the fireplace and with a little work, got several logs on the bed of coals and within moments, the wood had taken off and was burning merrily. She noticed a hook in front of the fireplace and smiled to herself. She hobbled off to the kitchen and got a can of soup open, thanking the creators of pull tab lids, and dumped it into a small pot with some extra water and stirred it up. Tucking the pot into the crook of her left elbow and the sling, she made her way back to the fireplace and hung up the little pot on the hook, leaving it to heat from the fire as she went around and lit a few oil lamps.

The radio was quiet though she did turn it up a little. She plugged in her laptop and opened it up. She had splurged part of her savings two years ago and got a top of the line laptop with memory, a satellite connection and other accessories. It was where she kept all of her music, kept up with the world and friends, as well as kept her documents and the like. She knew she'd not get a connection in this weather but she turned on some music and went through some files until she could smell the soup. She got up and stirred the soup, checking it with her finger and found it already hot. She pulled it off the hook and brought it over to the table where she sat it down on a drink coaster. She let it cool while she finished going through a few more files.

The sound of the wind howling past the windows and the music made her think of the ranch in Wyoming for the first time in years. She ate her soup as she thought back to those years long ago and it seemed like a million miles away. She began to nod off, causing her to realize that the soup was long gone and several hours had passed by. She closed down the laptop and put her dishes in the sink before heading to bed. It was going to be an interesting night.

--------------------

The storm was a big one. So far, they'd passed the record for amount of snow fallen within a certain time frame by a few inches. There was a system from the Pacific Ocean that was feeding moisture to it. It would start out as heavy rains in parts of California then gather speed and force as it crossed over to the Rocky Mountains where it would come up against the cold system that was out of the north and making a mess of things. The worst part was the system coming out of the south that was slowing the whole thing down so that it wasn't moving out of the area very quickly.

It had everything at a complete stop in town, at the resorts and people were being told to stay indoors and not chance going out in the storm unless it was an emergency. Even the casinos were running on a skeleton crew since there were very few willing to venture out in the storm to play cards. The Rangers had been busy for the first twelve hours of the storm but after getting people off of mountains, off the roads and checking to make sure a pair of wayward hikers were safely at an old cabin, had supplies to last a few days at least and were not in need of rescue.

They'd radioed up to Gunny a few times to check on her and the reply was always the same. She was fine, quite comfortable and they had her well stocked with wood and food that they could stop worrying. By the end of the second day of the storm, she had to admit that she was getting a little stir crazy. The quiet and rest was very relaxing to her and the knowledge that no one could get to her in this storm, keeping the outside world at bay. But Gunny had always been an active person and the inability to do much and the lack of things to do was making her bored beyond reason.

Cody was going a little stir crazy himself. Mark had looked at him funny when he'd come to the barn with a dazed look about him. Mark gave him a hard time about it all the way back to the station, wanting to know why he looked so … addelpatted … as he put it. Cody would only shake his head and say it was nothing and leave it at that. Mark had his suspicions but kept them to himself at the time. He wasn't the type to wear out his welcome by tormenting someone endlessly until they snapped, so he'd stopped as they'd reached the station.

That first twelve hours after the storm hit made Mark forget about the whole thing until he noticed Cody standing in front of the window, leaning against the frame with an arm, looking out over the snow covered parking lot and trees hanging heavy with it. He had a distant look to his face and as Mark folded in the game of poker he was playing with Izzy and Matt, he spoke up to the others, just loud enough to be heard by Cody. "If he stares out that window any longer, he'll go snow blind. Of course I think he was already blinded by love a few days ago…"

That got Matt's attention immediately as Cody turned slightly to look at Mark and Matt saw the bit of a blush to his cheeks. Izzy blinked and looked at Mark, "Huh? Cody doesn't have a girl…does he?" he said, looking confused.

Matt pursed his lips a little as Cody turned and looked back out the window, ignoring the others. Matt spoke up this time, "Oh I think he's pinning over someone with long reddish brown hair and gray-blue eyes…." Matt knew his brother well enough to see the slight tensing of the muscles in his shoulders and he knew he'd hit the mark.

Mark was watching as well, "You know, I think your right Matt. He had this most dazed look on his face when he came out to the barn up at the cabin, possibly a touch of a smile to his lips."

Izzy finally got it and tried his hardest to keep from laughing aloud at the poor kid's misfortune of being tormented by those two. He stepped in and shuffled the cards, "Let the poor guy be. We were playing Texas Hold-em, remember? I'm dealer this round…." And got them back on the game, leaving Cody to continue his wool gathering at the window.


	18. Chapter 17

When the snow finally stopped, it didn't take them any longer than to get the sidewalks and parking lot cleared before Cody was taking a snowmobile up to the cabin. There were sidelong looks and smirks but no one said anything when they'd packed up a bag of things for Gunny like some music CD's, a few books and a couple of magazines that others were done with for awhile.

When he got up there, he was surprised to find the cabin was almost buried in a drift of snow. He found it hard to remember when it had been this deep. He came around the side of the cabin that had the main door and saw that Gunny had gotten the door open and had managed to move/throw enough snow out of the way to get the door fully open and a bit of a pathway cut for moving around just the outside the door. Other than that, there was little else done.

He climbed off the snow mobile and slid down the bit of drift near the door and knocked before opening it and stepping inside. He shut the door behind him and looked around. Sitting on the floor next to a pair of boots and a coat hung up was a pot with a handle. She must have been using that to scoop out the snow. He smirked a little as he looked around then called out, "Gunny?"

He heard someone call out from the bathroom that was on the other side of the kitchen. He blushed a little and made his way through the kitchen, "You all right?" he asked.

"Yeah…" came her voice followed by a slight grumbled '…dammit'. The door was open and he saw her sitting on the toilet seat lid, her left leg propped up on the edge of the bathtub. Her brace was off and she had a pair of workout shorts on. She was dressed in nothing else but a sports bra, her sweatpants lying near her on the counter. She had the bandages off of her knee and thigh, cleaning them out with new bandaging lying on the counter where she could reach it. Her arm was out of its sling and she was managing to use the tip of her index finger and thumb to help her manipulate the cleaning pads.

He'd seen plenty of wounds before, hell he'd been on the receiving end of a few himself but what he saw of her leg was pretty amazing, considering that she an entire femur replaced. His eyes quickly traveled to the other leg where a long scar ran all the way around her calf. There were other scars but nothing that serious. He saw the scars on her forearms, the skin pale white where the rest of the skin was tanned from years of being in the sun. His eyes traveled farther up to her abdomen and chest region and the long thin scars that were visible there though not as drastic as those on her arms.

He looked up at her left shoulder, seeing she'd peeled the bandages off and had managed to clean most of the dried blood off and was letting it air out a little. The wound looked good from what he could see. His eyes traveled up to her face and saw her looking at him. There was a slight frown that creased her brow, "It's not polite to stare." She commented.

His face blushed a little, "Sorry. Can I help?" he asked, indicating her bandaging.

She looked back at her work and sighed before looking at him again, "Since you're here, might as well make yourself useful." She said. There was a hint of joking in her voice since he learned how to listen for it, finally realizing that it was there and what it 'sounded' like. Most people still took her as too serious when in fact, she really wasn't.

He smirked at her and moved forward, kneeling on the floor before her. He reached up very carefully and looked at the wound in her shoulder, getting a slight nod from her when he gave her the questioning look before he allowed himself to touch her. He had done some EMT training so he was fairly good at being able to look over a wound to know if it was healing properly. "This one looks really good." He said as he gently touched it. "I'll put a bandage over it just to keep the stitches from snagging on anything. Is this sore or tender?" he asked as he gently pressed around the edges of the scar.

She shook her head a little, "Not really." She stated, watching his face the whole time.

He nodded and left it alone. "I'll look at the one in the back when we get done with your leg." He went over to her left leg and took a careful look at the incision that went up the length of her leg. The stitching was very precise and they had done it with the non-dissolvable stitches. He very carefully touched the cleaned areas, touching the skin on either side, pressing in just a little. It wasn't until he got closer to the bullet wound that she winced a little. He gently prodded around the cut until he identified what the problem was.

He stood up and looked around, "Is there a set of tweezers in the med kit?" he asked.

She thought for a moment, "Yeah, I think so. Down along the front edge." She stated.

He left the bathroom and came back a minute later, washing his hands up again and disinfecting the tweezers before kneeling down in front of her again. He clicked on a flashlight he'd brought with him for pinpoint lighting. "I think you've got a bone fragment working its way out. Won't know till I can get it pulled out with the tweezers."

She nodded a little and leaned back to let him have the most light. He was very careful as he investigated further and finally got a hold of the offending fragment and pulled it carefully out of the cut between two of the stitches. She didn't flinch and hardly did more than inhale slightly. He handed her the fragment and then put the tweezers down, grabbing up a gauze pad and some disinfectant to clean the little bit of blood that was coming from the small opening.

"You doing ok?" he asked, his voice inflecting that there was more to that question than just injury wise.

She nodded a little, "Yeah. Just…strange." She commented.

He continued testing the incision until he got to the wound above the knee and worked carefully around it, cleaning it, inspecting and making sure everything was good. "Strange, how?" he asked.

She was silent for a long moment. "You're the first non-medical…person that I've let touch me other than to shake my hand or during hand-to-hand combat … in a long time." She said, swallowing slightly.

He looked up at her for a second then back down at his work, "That long huh? I can stop if you want me to." He asked in a way.

She swallowed again, "No." was all she said. He could tell she was fighting a battle he couldn't help her win. He looked away from her and focused on getting her leg bandaged up. He kept quiet as he worked, letting her deal with her issues in her own way. He did his best to use a careful hand, gentle and soothing as he went like he'd use on an injured wild animal. He knew he had to exude a sense of confidence and sincerity that she would notice subconsciously.

When he was finished with her leg, he looked up at her. "Why don't we move out to the kitchen to look at your hand and the back of your shoulder." He said. He stood up slowly and gathered up the old bandages and the new stuff. He left the small bathroom to give her the room to move around in and get her brace back on. He saw the slight look of relief when he was out of the way and knew he'd chosen to do the right thing.

He'd spent time gentling wild horses before and when you have to approach wild animals to observe and track them, you learn to move slow, cautiously and look for signs that you're on the right track or when to back off. With the mental and physical trauma she'd suffered in the past six years, she was like a wild horse; shy, skittish and willing to bolt or fight at a moments notice when she felt threatened. Since he met her, he'd been slowly working on her, wearing away those walls she'd put up around her, the ones he could almost see from the first time he shook her hand.

Within a few minutes, she came hobbling out without the use of the crutch. She wasn't putting her full weight on the leg yet but she'd obviously been working on it a little. She got to a kitchen chair and flopped down in it with a grunt. She had gotten her sweat pants over the bandages and then put the brace over the top of it. She had a sweater in her good hand that she put on the table for after she was done getting 'doctored up'.

Cody had been busy cleaning up and throwing away the used bandages and laying out the stuff he still needed. When she got settled in the chair he carefully moved around to her back and pulled off the bandaging over the wound she couldn't reach. He picked up another gauze pad, doused it with alcohol and slowly cleaned it up. As he did, his eyes traveled down the visible skin of her back. She'd obviously had skin graphs but he could still see some of the damage and the scar tissue from the injuries she'd received six years ago. There were whip scars up around the edges of her shoulders and neck that hadn't stripped the skin away but nothing could be done for except to let them heal. The scars were faint and not easily seen at quick glance.

He finished up quickly and then tested the skin and muscle around the exit wound. "How's that feeling?" he asked quietly.

She was quiet for a moment as he pressed gently and prodded a little. "Can't feel anything really other than the pressure of your fingers. Can't feel much back there." She said, growing quiet again.

Cody knew she didn't have to finish that statement. The nerve endings would have been ruined with the beating she'd taken and then the skin graphs couldn't replace all that had been ruined, just cover it up to hide it. He kept his thoughts to himself. He put some ointment on a pad and pressed it over the wound. "The skin is cool and there's no swelling or redness around it, so you should be good." He stated as he put some tape at the edges to hold the pad into place. "I wouldn't doubt that in another week or so they'll start removing some of the stitches. You're healing pretty quickly." He said as he came around to sit on a chair in front of her.

She watched him for a moment and then pulled the sweater to her. She took care in pulling her bandaged hand through the sleeve first and then very slowly lifted her arm above her head as she pulled on the rest of the sweater, using her good hand to pull it into place. She carefully put her arm down with a slight wince. She might be healing outside but the insides were still mending. It was obvious that she knew the extent of what she could do and he was silently thankful for it. It meant she'd not strain herself too much and be able to get back to work within a shorter period of time.

She held out her bandaged hand to him, "Last one Doc." She said with a slight smirk. She seemed a little more at ease now that she had hidden herself away behind the sweat pants and sweater.

He nodded and began to unwrap the hand and pull off the bandages. The wound looked like the rest, ugly but healing well. He went to work, quietly cleaning the top of her hand and then turning her hand over to clean the palm. "Have you tried to work your fingers yet?" he asked.

She raised an eyebrow at his question but with slow, careful movements, he saw her carefully curl her index finger and then her middle finger. Her ring finger took a little more effort but it finally joined the others. The thumb and pinky fingers were the only ones not affected from the damage done. He smiled warmly at her and nodded, taking the hand and carefully smoothing out the curled fingers.

Gunny struggled with herself not to jerk her hand away. She honestly wanted to be touched by him but her mind was screaming to run away as she fought with herself to not follow through on that instinct. Finally he turned her hand over and looked at the other side, cleaning it as well, checking the wound out and then finally applying fresh bandages along with the finger splints that were to hold her fingers still so things could heal properly.

He finally nodded and smiled up at her when he finished. "Everything is looking good, actually much better than I thought they would." He cleaned up what mess he'd made and then stood up, stretching. "I'll go clear the snow a bit farther out from the cabin." He went over by the door of the bathroom where he'd set down the care package and picked it up, bringing it over to her. "The team put some things together to give you something to occupy yourself with for another few days before your doctors appointment."

She looked at the bag of stuff then up at him, apparently unsure of what to say to that. To save the need to say anything, he went back over to the front door and pulled on his coat and gloves before taking up the shovel that was behind the door and heading outside. He spent the next few hours clearing off the porch and cutting a pathway to the barn. He climbed onto the roof and cleaned off the solar panel and the drifts around it so it could get sunlight.

As he stood on the roof, overlooking the valley below, he was amazed at the scene. He scrambled down off the roof and went over to his snowmobile and pulled out his camera. Slinging it around his neck, he went back up to the roof and spent some time, taking pictures of the valley that sprawled out below. It looked like a box full of emeralds that had been slung out onto white velvet, nothing having disturbed the quiet tranquility that these deep snows brought.

He came down off the roof and took a few pictures of the front of the cabin to document the depth of the snow and then headed inside. When he opened the door, he was overwhelmed with the smell of cooking food that made his stomach growl. He shut the door and peeled out of his wet clothes, hanging them up and kicking off his boots before heading into the kitchen.

She was sitting at the table, her leg up on another chair, reading through some of the newspapers. On the stove was a pot of stew, slowly simmering away. He thought he smelled fresh biscuits too but he didn't dare hope. She looked up at him as he came in. She had a look about her that seemed to enjoy the fact that he was in obvious heaven with the smell of the food. She smiled a little, "Why don't you go get a hot shower and warm up. Lunch will be ready in a little bit." She said, her eyes still watching him with a bit of mirth tucked into the corner of her mouth.

He nodded, not quite sure what to say or do at that moment, seeing her sitting in the kitchen, surrounded by smells that brought back a rush of memories. He walked by her then on his way to the bathroom and stopped near her, leaning down as she looked up at him and kissed her forehead gently. There was a little exhale of breath and he looked at her eyes before leaning down and gently kissing her lips this time, a gentle and tender kiss that she responded to without more than a heartbeats hesitation. He heard the little hitch in her breathing; the almost silent moan that came from her throat.

He parted from the kiss and looked at her again, holding her gaze with his before speaking, "After that kiss, I don't think I need a hot shower anymore." He said in a light manner before moving towards the bathroom to get cleaned up. He would have to leave after lunch because he had other things to do but at least she hadn't flinched away or told him off. He had heard the need in the few small sounds she'd made when she had responded to his kiss. But he promised himself to take this slow. He wanted her coming to him, being the first one to initiate a touch so that it was on her level, her trust, not his. He wanted her to get the sense that when he was close to her, there was no threat, no need to fear his attentions but to look on them with a sense of longing or desire to have them to herself.


	19. Chapter 18

By the time he had his shower and lunch, it was almost noon and he knew it would be a good solid hour yet before he got back. He called into the station to check in and let them know he was on his way back. When the negative came back on his question if there was anything they needed him to check on or look into while he was out in this area, he gave the affirmative that he'd be back soon. As he was getting his gear on, she came up to him to watch him prepare to leave. "Tell the others I said hello. I'm kinda hoping I can go to the station after my doctor visit just to see everyone for awhile."

Cody looked at her with a strange look on his face but then smiled, "I think they'd like that. It's been quiet around there and I know they are already sick of cooking for themselves. If they found out that I got some of your homemade stew for lunch, I might have to fight them off for who comes up here next time." He joked softly. He was actually quite happy to hear that she wanted to be around the crew. They still weren't sure if she was ever truly going to fit in but now it looked like the distance and time of having the quiet around her was letting her get her thoughts together some.

She looked at him, her eyes almost level with his. She reached out with her right hand and touched his face and then very gently brushed a piece of hair out of his eyes. Her eyes followed what her fingers were doing as if marveling at the fact that she was able to touch him. Her hand moved down the back of his head and she gave him a little tug to pull him closer before kissing him with a feather light kiss on the lips. It was the type of kiss that left him wanting more but afraid to go farther because he felt like he'd become a puddle at her feet. He knew he'd promised himself to take it slow but if she kept doing this to him and vice versa, he didn't know how long he could hold off.

She pulled away and put a folded piece of paper in his left jacket pocket before zipping it shut. "For you to read after your work is done." She said quietly, almost as if afraid he would read it.

He nodded and held out his hand to her. She looked at it for a moment then put her hand in his. He lifted it to his lips and kissed the back of her fingers. "As you wish." He said quietly before heading out the door. He'd seen the old movie 'Princess Bride' and wasn't ashamed to use a little line from it if it brought a smile to her face like the one he'd just left her with. He got back to his snow mobile and headed back to the station, the note in his pocket burning a proverbial hole in it. But he promised himself to do what she asked and would wait until his work was done for the day.

--------------------------

That afternoon proved to be one disaster after another. He got a call ten minutes away from the station to meet up with them at the scene of a snowplow and car wreck. It wasn't a pretty picture and after organizing the cleanup with tow trucks and the sheriffs department, it was on to the next thing. He and Mark got half buried in a pile of snow when a snow shelf slid off a roof of the cabin that they were digging out to get the stranded skiers from three days earlier.

By the time they got the skiers down to the station it was dark and both he and Mark were soaked and cold. Matt ordered them to get warm showers and get something in them to eat. Cody forgot about the note in his pocket for the time, simply hanging his coat up on the rack to dry and pulled off his wet boots before heading upstairs to get his gear for a shower. Mark had beaten him to the showers so he simply wrapped up in a blanket and fell asleep.

Mark woke him when he returned and he staggered to the shower that did nothing but warm him up and make him just as sleepy. He dragged himself out of the bathroom and went over to his bunk where he crashed hard, unable to put one thought in front of another. When Mark tried to wake him for supper, Cody only managed to grumble something and half-heartedly wave him away. Mark chuckled all the way back to the kitchen to enjoy some hot soup and biscuits.

---------------------

Robin who had come into the bunkroom that Cody shared with Mark and sat on the edge of his bed, shaking his shoulder gently, waked Cody gently. He'd been sleeping hard for several hours and was able to wake up to some extent. He looked up at Robin with sleep filled eyes but he slowly sat up some, "Huh?" he asked, wondering if there was an emergency or something he was being woke up for.

Robin held out a folded piece of paper to him. She pursed her lips together. "I went to dry your coat and when I was searching through your pockets…." She didn't finish before Cody quickly took the note from her.

He was awake now. "Crap…I forgot." He said. Then he looked at Robin, "Did you read it?" he asked.

Robin pursed her lips together. "I opened it and saw it was Gunny's writing. I thought at first it was a list of things she needed taken care of but after realizing its…something personal for you, I folded it back up and brought it to you. I didn't think it would be wise to have it anywhere the guys could get a hold of it." She said, her cheeks flushed.

Cody swallowed, "She asked me to read it tonight when I was done with work…but it was so crazy and I just crashed…I forgot." He said, looking sheepish.

She smiled at her brother-in-law. "I promise not to say anything but I think you should read it now that you're awake." She smiled, "I kept you out some soup if you want something for a late supper."

He shook his head, "I'm ok. She fed me stew for lunch." He said with a grin.

Robin rolled her eyes, "Better not let the guys find out." She teased.

"They won't unless you tell them…" he said, trying to look serious.

Robin only laughed, "No I won't tell them…but you owe me 'Ace'." She said, pointing to the paper.

Cody chuckled, "Fine…I owe you." He said with a grin.

She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, "Good, I'll remember that when I need someone to watch Jeremiah and Jimmy." She said with a grin.

Cody flopped back on the bed with a mock groan as she got up and left.

Cody waited until she left before unfolding the paper and turning on the lamp he kept over the head of his bed. As he slowly progressed through the letter, it wasn't long but the words delivered a message that was only truly understood by him.

'Cody, don't think for a minute that I don't see what you're doing. I've gentled enough wild horses that I recognize all the tricks.' His heart almost stopped at the end of that sentence. He was almost afraid to read the rest, but he continued…

'I personally think your nuts. What you'd want with a used up female retired jarhead is beyond me to understand. I grew up in a mans world with only my mother to be a feminine influence in my life, which isn't saying much since she could ride, spit and rope as well as any of the ranch hands. I was a soldier, commander and drillmaster. There was no room in my life for relationships and to be honest, who'd want me anyway, especially after what happened six years ago.' Cody stopped reading for a moment. He knew it was Gunny writing but he was reading more about her in between the lines then he ever figured she'd let on to.

'So now I find myself sitting here with more injuries, trying to see into my future and what it holds for me, other than aches and stiff muscles on really cold or damp mornings. When I think of spending it alone, keeping myself distant, everyone at arms length, I can't see myself growing old and what I do see, scares me. I know that I'd be miserable, cranky and cold hearted.' Cody had to stop reading again. He had spent the last year getting to know Gunny a little better and he had to reread that paragraph again to get the full meaning behind her words.

'But when I think about what it would be like to have someone in my life, my mind drifts constantly to you. I find it hard to speak or show my feelings, but in the past year, you've been there for me. Your words, your actions and manners have made me rethink and try to work through my fears of letting anyone near me.' His heart started to beat a little faster and his eyes moved to the last paragraph.

'From the moment I saw you enter the restaurant that night a year ago, I felt something for you. When you offered me a beer, I was scared at how fast my heart was beating. Every time I've been around you, you distract me…in a good way. I can only hope you feel something in return.' Cody's face flushed for a moment and finished reading the rest of the letter. 'I love you. There. I've put it in writing so it's documented and official. I'm always unsure of what my next step should be around people. But with you, I never have to wonder, I just know. Let me know if you feel anything for me so if not, I can move on. I'm at the crossroads in my weary life. I can't stand here forever waiting for a sign in which direction I should turn. I can't promise you anything other than it won't be boring.'

It wasn't signed and it wasn't addressed but he reread it three times before folding it up carefully and tucking it into a 'hidden' pocket in his logbook. He had to keep himself in bed almost physically or he knew he would jump on a snowmobile and ride up there tonight. But she knew he had an obligation to be on call tonight and wouldn't appreciate him shirking his duties.


	20. Chapter 19

Morning couldn't come soon enough and when he heard Robin up and moving around in the kitchen, he got up and showered, shaved and dressed. He was off the next two days since his 'shift' was up in an hour. He headed downstairs and joined Robin and Jessica in the kitchen. Cody instinctively picked up Jessica to let Robin have time to get coffee and breakfast started.

Robin looked at Cody. "Want to talk about it?" she asked quietly after getting the coffee started. "It'll be at least half an hour before anyone gets up to join us…" She had learned a few things about Cody along the way and she left the invitation open to talk.

Cody pursed his lips together. "I should be upset that you found the note and more upset that you read it but…of all the people, it was probably best it was you." He rocked Jessica in his arms as he fed the baby the bottle her mother handed to Cody.

Robin nodded, "Tell me how you feel about her?" she asked quietly.

Cody was quiet for a time, pacing the kitchen a little, keeping just out of her way. "I guess once a woman gives you a bloody nose in her sleep, the rest is all sunshine and roses after that."

Robin chuckled. Cody had gotten no end of grief from the guys about the bruised nose and dark spot under his eye it had caused when Crane had jerked her hand away in her sleep and hit Cody in the face accidentally. "True…but what's your gut tell you? Is this someone you could live with for the rest of your life? Do you think you can deal with her 'issues' and her with yours?"

Cody was quiet for a long time as he watched Jessica drop off to sleep in his arms. He silently wished his dad were here to talk to but also to see his granddaughter. Finally he spoke up, "Guess whenever I used to get close to someone in college, something would happen that would remind me of things that happened between my mom and dad. Then it was downhill from there. I'd distance myself and the girl would end up being just friends as she realized I had 'issues'." He carefully put Jessica into her cradle seat that sat in a chair out of the way.

"With her, it's different. I don't know why but I feel like a compass needle and she's north. I've learned how to read her where others are still struggling to understand her." He smirked a little.

Robin nodded, "I'm getting there. I've come to realize she's not as serious as she comes off as being." She smiled quietly. "Cody, I will tell you one piece of sisterly advice. You won't hear this really from anyone else but call it a woman's intuition. She's your match Cody. I think if you two open up a little more to each other, you'll find that you two are the two halves of a whole. It took Matt forever to realize that with him and I but when he did, there was nothing that could keep us apart and that connection seemed to settle things a little. It's hard to explain but we became a better team once things were out in the open between us."

Cody sat quietly and thought it over. He looked at it from every angle. Finally Robin came over and put down a plate of eggs and sausage in front of him, then kissed his forehead. "I read the letter. She's gone out on a proverbial limb to show you how she feels in the only way she can at this moment. I get the feeling that if you truly love her and you let her know it, there won't be anything that will budge her faith and love in you. You will never want with her…and it'll never be boring." She said with a sly smile as she restated Cranes own words.

Cody looked at Robin and she kept her smile hidden as she saw his cheeks color with a blush. "Eat. It's your day off and if you wait around too long, someone will see you leave. I'll cover for you if you wish to 'go to town for the day' but I would suggest taking an alternate route or they'll know." She whispered conspiratorially.

Cody chuckled and quickly finished his meal. He was gone out the door before anyone else was truly up and moving. Cody dressed in his snow gear and headed out. He took Robin at her word and made his way to the road with the snow mobile and angled his way towards town. Unless someone followed his tracks, they'd have no idea he changed his direction once deep enough into the woods.

---------------------------

Cody made his way from the place next to the barn where he parked the snowmobile. The sun had only been up for half an hour and when he looked at the chimney of the house, he knew she hadn't stoked the fire yet. She might not even be up. He knew first hand how late you slept when you're recovering.

He entered the cabin quietly, shutting the door behind him. He was right in that she hadn't gotten up yet. He moved quietly and put a few logs on the fire after uncovering the bed of coals from the night. He made his way into the kitchen and stoked the cook stove a little, getting something going to build coals up. He looked around for a moment and knew that she had done her best to keep the cabin cleaned.

Carefully he moved back into the living room and stoked the fire before knocking softly on what was once his fathers' bedroom door. He heard a slight intake of breath and a groan, "Whosisit.." came a semi-conscious voice.

Cody opened the door some and stepped quietly into the room, "Cody." He said softly.

She must have had a rough night because dark circles rimmed the bottom of her eyes plus the redness of them. She seemed just a touch flushed. He looked at her in concern, "You all right?" he asked carefully, moving to the bed and sitting on the edge of it.

She looked at him again before laying her head back on the pillow. "Nightmares. My leg was killing me. Took a pain pill. Some reason…painkillers make me have nightmares of…" she stopped talking, really not willing to finish that sentence. She finally looked at him, "You read my note?" she asked, a sudden look of worry in her eyes.

He smiled a little, not really looking at her as he clasped his hands in front of him, his elbows resting on his knees. He looked a little at the floor, "I wasn't the first one unfortunately but I think we owe Robin a favor for being discrete."

Crane looked at him, an embarrassed blush to her face. Cody continued to explain, "Yesterday afternoon and evening were hell. Ended up less than three foot of snow that fell off a roof trying to get a few skiers out from a cabin they'd been stranded in since the beginning of the storm. Whole snow shelf fell on Mark and I. Before that, we had to deal with a snow plow accident….and….and….and. I was soaked when I got back to the station and hung my coat up to dry. I went for a hot shower and couldn't even stay awake to eat supper. Robin woke me up about ten last night, handing me the slightly damp note. She had checked my pockets before putting my jacket into the dryer. She admitted that she opened it and saw it was your writing. She thought at first it might be a note from you about supplies needed or something but when she realized what it was, she said she brought it to me so the guys wouldn't know."

He looked sideways at Crane. "I talked to her this morning and she gave me some 'sisterly' advice." He said, keeping his face straight.

Her eyes suddenly seemed to widen then return to normal before she leaned back on the bed and put an arm over her eyes with a sigh. "Dare I ask what that advice was?" she asked, her heart sinking. He hadn't come in confessing his love and she couldn't read his face for once. It didn't help she was so tired she could drop right here. She had fretted about the letter for hours last night, wondering if she had done the right thing or if she had just pushed away the one person she trusted.

She felt him shift at the end of the bed and suddenly to her surprise, she felt him move up beside her. She tensed, unsure of what he was doing. He laid on top of the covers that were over her, keeping her left side upward. She felt him touch her face, then felt the kiss on her cheek. "You can but it wasn't so much advise as confirmation of what I already knew." He said.

He heard the little hitch in her breathing. He had felt her tense up when he laid down against her back. "Crane…I've loved you since the moment you invited me to sit with you. I didn't realize it at first but…I haven't felt like this with anyone I've ever been with. You're like a stone to the fast moving white water that is at times my life. No matter what happens, you don't budge, you don't give. You're something to hold onto when I don't know if I can look at one more accident or deal with one more injured or dead weekend warrior. Matt's always been my rock but he's got Robin now and his kids. They are his foundation more than I am. I'm still there for him whenever he needs it because I know him better than anyone, even Robin. But it's hard for Matt to always be there for me when he's got a herd of rangers, a wife and three rugrats to be strong for."

He felt her begin to relax as he talked quietly to her. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek again and then placed a soft kiss on the side of her neck. He saw her close her eyes and heard the hitch in her breathing and her body give a little shiver. He almost knew instinctively that it wasn't from fear but from a shiver of pleasure. He felt her relax a little more. He gently kissed her neck again, whispering to her. "I love you Miss Atheron." He gently put an arm over her side and pulled her up against him. She tensed for a second until he shhhhh'd her softly. "Rest. I'll do my best to keep the nightmares away."

She blinked the tears back from her eyes and she wrestled with her screaming brain for a moment until the warmth of him against her seemed to soak into her own body and begin to relax some primal part of her, not to mention her muscles. His arm laid carefully over her middle made her feel as though someone had just put a protective shield over that kept away the outside world for awhile. Her attention focused down to nothing but him and the feel of him against her through the blankets. Her brain fought to keep her awake but she felt her muscles begin to relax and she soon felt herself drifting into a sleep that pulled her under into the deep darkness where nothing could touch her.

----------------------

Cody felt her relax and heard/felt her breathing even out and deepen. He laid his head on the pillow next to hers and slowly drifted off after he was sure she was deep enough in sleep that nothing should bother her. It was something he knew she needed more than anything at the moment.

He could smell the scent of her fresh washed hair and scent of her body that was almost erotic. He slipped into sleep himself, content to get some rest when he could now that there was no tossing and turning, thinking of the words written on that piece of paper and wondering if it was real. He knew it was real. He had gentled the 'wild horse' enough that he could finally touch her with little more than a flex of her muscles tensing. As he drifted off to sleep, he could only hope that someday it would dwindle away to receiving no reaction other than pleasure to his touch.

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Whelp, that's all I have and have had written for some time. I'm kind of in a writters slump. If anyone has ideas of where I might take this further, let me know...I'd love to write more but the muse has packed her bags and left the building for the time being.... Thanks for any reviews and I'd love to hear from anyone that has at least in some aspect enjoyed the story so far.


	21. Chapter 20

Several weeks later....

Gunny yelped as the doctor poked around on her left hand. She had to fight her instincts not to pull her hand away and punch him, but she managed to hold still. She let him work her hand to see how well it was healing, moving her fingers and testing the wound. This was her first major checkup since everything that had happened with Max a month ago, she'd been healing up and trying to get back on her feet, so to speak.

She'd had a doctor's appointment two weeks before to take out stitches and x-ray everything. She'd gotten a clean bill of health then but they had wanted to see her again in two more weeks, so here she sat. She'd been asked a hundred questions about pain levels, put through the paces for mobility and flexibility tests. Her exasperation was starting to get the best of her and she was tired of answering the same questions over and over again.

Finally, the doctor was finished with her and went to write some notes in her chart while she got dressed. She still limped a little with her left leg. She refused to use crutches though and used a cane when she'd been on her feet for too long and her leg began throbbing. Her left shoulder was 'twingy' from time to time but everything seemed to be in good working order though she still didn't have full mobility back with it yet. Her left hand, she knew, wouldn't ever fully recover. Her two middle fingers were stiff and though she could curl them, she found it hard to manipulate the fingers to pick up things. She had to rely on the other three fingers for most of the 'heavy lifting'. But hey, she only needed the hand to curl around a flight stick so as long as she could hold to one of those, she was fine as far as she concerned.

The doctor came back and gave her the diagnosis before telling her to come back in one month unless she had problems before. He told her he'd release her then to go back to active duty with the Rangers but if she wanted to do light duty, he'd allow that… but no rescues, no flying, nothing for her other than desk work until she had gotten the all clear from him. And he made sure to mention that he'd be calling the Ranger CO, Matt Hawkes, to let him know the doctors orders so there'd be no getting away with anything.

He gave her a prescript for an anti-inflammatory and didn't even bother to ask about her needing pain killers since she still had all but two of the pain pills she left the hospital with. The only downside of not taking the pain pills when things got bad was that she slept a lot as her body became overloaded with the natural chemicals it released when the body was fighting pain and stress. It was getting better though. She didn't sleep as much as she had before, only taking a quick nap in the afternoon or early evening, then sleeping through the night.

She smirked a little as she finished getting her boots on as she thought about the nights she really slept well. Those were the nights Cody could make it up to his dad's cabin where she was staying until she was released to go back to work. They hadn't done much more than just sleep together in the same bed, cuddle on the couch…well more like he sat in the corner of the couch and she reclined against him, giving her a way out if she felt panicky or her need to be free of another's touch became too much. But those nights were some of her better nights for sleeping and she could only explain it as possibly knowing that someone was watching over her, allowing her to relax her guard just enough to truly get a deep sleep.

She pulled on her coat and shook the doctor's hand before shoving the prescript in her coat pocket and headed out to the waiting room. Cody was sitting there, flipping through a well worn magazine. He looked up and saw her coming down the hallway and stood, tossing the magazine back down on the end table. He smiled that quiet smile of his that she'd come to enjoy. "So, how'd it go?" he asked as he fell in beside her, his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets yet staying close without touching.

She smirked, "I can go back to doing light duty but until my checkup in a month, I'm not allowed any rescues, blah blah blah." She chuckled, "Hell, he's even going to call Matt to make sure I don't try to get back to flying before then."

Cody laughed quietly, "Let me guess…Doc Trumen?"

She nodded, "Yep. I take it he's seen you guys more than once?"

Cody nodded. "Yeah. He pretty much gets most of our cases of bangs, bruises, broken bones, cuts and so forth if he's on duty. So he knows all of our tricks. But he's a good guy and doesn't try to dance around anything delicate…just comes right out and tells you the black and white of it." He said as he pulled out the keys to his truck and unlocked her door, opening it and waiting till she was in the seat before closing it.

Gunny smiled a little…such a gentleman. She turned her head to look at him as he climbed into his side of the truck. "So where to amigo?" she asked.

He'd come up to get her early that morning on the snow mobile and take her back to the ranger station where they used his truck to get into town for her 10am doctors appointment. It was now almost 1pm so at least the lunch crowds would be winding down.

He shrugged, "Could go back to the station and fix ourselves something or call up the station to see if they'd had lunch yet and get them to come meet us somewhere…. Or we could just go off and find some place just for the two of us." He said, giving her options.

She was quiet for a while, "Why not call the station to see if they've eaten. If not, we can stop by to pick them up something. Just not in the mood to deal with too many people today."

Cody nodded and smiled. With a quick call to the station, he discovered they'd been called away on a rescue shortly after he and Gunny had left for her appointment. Robin reported they were on their way back now and if they wanted to pick up pizza at their favorite place, she'd call in the order.

Gunny pulled out the prescript, "Probably can get this filled while we wait for the pizza to get done." she said as Cody pulled out of the parking lot.


	22. Chapter 21

Matt always wondered why people never believed the local rangers and sheriffs department when they said that the conditions are not good for skiers or weekend warriors. This was the fifth set of skiers they'd had to pull off the mountain in the past week and a half and it was getting old. They had been warned but figured that was for amateurs, not them. They'd learned the hard way and had spent a night up on the mountain. The one woman had frost bite on her toes and fingers and one of the teenagers was suffering from a mild case of hypothermia.

As they got the snowmobiles back to the station after dropping off the skiers to a waiting ambulance, he saw Cody's truck was back in the parking lot. As the group trudged into the cabin, the smell of pizza filled the room and his stomach growled hungrily. It'd been a long time since breakfast. He wasn't surprised to see Gunny flopped out on the couch, already munching through a piece, Cody on the other end doing the same.

Robin pointed everyone towards the kitchen and within minutes, they were thawing out next to the fireplace in the main room. Greetings were exchanged with Gunny as everyone found a place to sit or sprawl. The silence that followed wasn't one being forced upon people... it was just simply the silence that comes from hungry people eating and not bothering to take time to talk until that first piece or two were gone.

Finally, after several of the Rangers got up for seconds, Matt looked over at Gunny, "So… how'd it go? You can come back and play with us, right?" he said with a smile.

She looked up at Matt, "Doc said I can't come out to play until I can do a cartwheel." She said her face straight and very serious looking.

Matt blinked and then realized she was teasing him. He rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Seriously, when can you come back?" he asked. He was shorthanded without her and they'd had to rely on the sheriff's deputy to do the flying…he was good but not as good as Frank or Gunny.

She shrugged her right shoulder, "I have to return in one month for a final checkup. I can do light duty till then but according to Doc Trumen, no rescues, no flying, nothing other than light duty of pushing papers." She said. "So I can stay here and answer phones and watch the kids if Robin wants to be your backup." She offered, knowing Robin had been 'itching' to get back out in the field to keep on her toes.

Matt thought it over for a few moments, occupying his time with another slice of pizza while everyone else waited to see what he said. They'd been so busy the past few months that they were all behind in paperwork, including Matt and having a 'full' staff again would help things out considerably.

Finally Matt nodded, "If you don't mind. You can help us get caught up on paperwork and such. If you're up to it, we've got small things to do around here that have been neglected for awhile now. I'll take Robin when we need the full team if you're up to handling the phones and the kids if it happens to be after school. Jessica's no chore unless she starts teething again." He grimaced at that, remembering how all the kids were when they teethed.

Cody had remained quiet for this entire exchange, eating pizza and watching Gunny's expression from the corner of his eye or upon casual glances her way. She finally looked directly at him when she'd caught one of his glances and raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'And what are you thinking….' He shrugged and smirked a little, keeping his thoughts to himself.

Gunny nodded, "I'll have Cody take me up to the cabin so I can get my things. I'll be back tomorrow morning. Might as well make a list of things that need done and get paperwork together for me to do…I'm not going to hunt it down for you though." She said, giving Matt that casual look that Cody knew to mean she was serious. She'd do the work but she wasn't going to chase her tail trying to find it to begin with.

Matt nodded. This took a load off his mind and he was grateful…though she might not be so willing once she saw the list of things that needed to be done. But he knew she'd take care of the things she could and the rest would happen whenever they happened.


	23. Chapter 22

Once the pizza was consumed down to the last bit of meat crumbs in one of the boxes, Cody and Gunny got on the snowmobile and headed back to Jesse's cabin. The late afternoon sun was obscured by thin gray clouds and there was a scent of snow on the air again. This had been one of the heaviest years in snow fall in the past fifty years. Even places in California that normally didn't see snow and even down into Las Vegas, had received some. It was usually melted away by midmorning in those areas but it really threw a monkey with a wrench into the works for those places.

Cody stoked the fire from the old coals left that morning as Gunny went about gathering her things up to set by the door. The two of them spent part of the evening cleaning, putting things back to right and taking inventory of the supplies that were left. They had a quiet meal of stew and once the dishes were washed and the kitchen cleaned, the two headed for the couch.

Gunny waited till Cody had stretched out some and then slid up next to him. The two of them sat there for some time, staring at the fire, hardly saying a word. But nothing was needed to be said. It just felt right and the quiet between them was a comfortable silence. Finally when she felt herself begin to doze a little, she got up off the couch and held out her right hand to him. "Come on…." Her voice was quiet as she spoke.

Cody slid off the couch and took her hand gently before following her to the bedroom. Once there, she didn't bother to light the lamp but instead lead him to the bed. Her hands began to carefully unbutton his shirt, her eyes following her hands. Cody remained still though there was a hitch in his breathing as he wondered if she was willing to go 'all the way' tonight.

Gunny took her time, slowly removing his flannel shirt. She had decided tonight that she wanted to make love to him…it might be the last night together, alone, for some time. She heard his breathing pattern change and her own heart was beating a little faster. She slid the shirt to the floor before finally looking up at his eyes. She took one of his hands and placed it on the buttons of her shirt as if giving him permission to do the same for her.

The only light in the room was that of the moonlight coming through the window as they gently went about undressing each other. When the clothes had been shed, she pushed him back towards the bed. He reached back without looking and pulled the covers back and then sat on the edge of the bed. He wouldn't touch her unless she indicated he could. It was something they had agreed to back when they first started becoming serious with one another.

She reached down and took up his hands, pulling them up a little. She guided them to her chest, cupping them gently over her breasts. This was her signal to him that she was all right with this contact for now. He knew that if she wanted him to stop, she'd take his wrists and give them a gentle squeeze. He was almost in agony with need but he knew that if he wished to help her over her fears, he had to go at the pace she set, no matter how insane with need it made him.

*****

The moonlight was gone from the window by the time the two of them had made love. Cody had to admit that it was one of the most intense, sensual and satisfying sessions he'd ever had with a woman. It wasn't like he was out finding a girl every night but it had been a long while since he'd made love to a woman…a couple of years by his remembering.

She had only taken his wrists into her hands once and stilled his hands though she didn't remove them. She had only sat there for a moment, fighting with her own demons before looking up at him and removing her hands, letting him resume the sweet torture he'd been giving to her. Her body had been tense for much of the time but the longer she allowed him to touch her, the more relaxed she became.

They both lay together under the covers, facing each other. She had placed her hand on his heart, feeing the steady rhythm of it through his skin. She didn't speak, didn't need to. He could tell it from her touch that tonight, they had managed to chase away a few more of those demons she carried with her and had gentled the wild horse inside of her a little more. He knew she would always be the gruff, self-assured woman who was born and raised on a ranch in Wyoming and a retired Marine, but under it all, he knew there was a sensual woman, hidden behind layers of scars and responsibilities.

He fell asleep like that, her hand still touching his chest, feeling the beat of his heart. He had moved to cover her hand with his as sleep finally pulled him under.

******

Crane marveled at how he had been so gentle with her, careful, attentive and though she knew it was driving him wild with need, he kept himself in check until they had both reached the pinnacle of their love making together. It truly amazed her that any man could have done as much to help her get over so many hurdles and yet still be willing to stay with her even though the pace to get here had been agonizingly slow.

She knew she'd have issues that might haunt her for the rest of her life. Her only hope was that in time, she could bury them deep enough that their presence would have very little effect on her day to day life. Possibly even a life with him but she wasn't ready to get her hopes up for something that might not happen. She wasn't going to push him into anything that permanent either. There was no doubt in her mind, if he asked her to marry him, she'd say yes. But that was a decision he'd have to come to on his own. First and foremost, he was her friend and hopefully she was his. To her that was something worth keeping.

She finally fell asleep until the early dawn and instincts woke her, telling her it was time to get up and get their day started.


End file.
